


Corruption In The City

by LinkCat



Series: Medical Diaries [4]
Category: Trolls (2016), Trolls World Tour (2020)
Genre: Child Abuse, Corruption, Disability, F/F, F/M, Implied/Referenced Underage Sex, Insane Trolls, Loss of Control, M/M, Multi, Police Brutality, Power Imbalance, Virus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-10
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:47:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 30
Words: 43,308
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26383618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LinkCat/pseuds/LinkCat
Summary: After years of searching for Tourmaline, it becomes clear that there are problems within the city as well.
Relationships: Biggie & Smidge (Trolls), Guy Diamond/Queen Poppy
Series: Medical Diaries [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1766938
Comments: 4
Kudos: 7





	1. All Grown Up

**Author's Note:**

> This is part 4 of “Medical Dairies.” I’m sorry for any mistakes I make. I hope you enjoy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some of the trolls gather for a birthday party.

Seven years passed by for Goldie and her family. During that time, Tourmaline was still not found and taken down. He had found a hidden place, hundreds of miles away, where he raised Jasmine, Treasure, Jewel, Peace, Justice, and all the other children he had stolen or reproduced. He also prepared his army for a huge world war. He knew Queen Lily was hiding with her family, and was going to stop at nothing to eliminate her family line.

Most trolls from Goldie’s family decided against having any more children, while Tourmaline was on the loose. Things changed when the oldest children began to marry. It was very hard for them to wait to start a family. Some of them felt that Tourmaline may never show up again. Others thought perhaps he had been killed after attacking the wrong city. No one knew for sure. Princess Poppy was expecting her first baby with Prince Guy Diamond. Basil had married Sassafras and both were expecting their first babies. Pi had married Sapphire. They decided against having children, because of the risks that Sapphire would face if she got pregnant. They were waiting to find a child to adopt. Bella would assure they got one when the time was right. Amber and Emerald were in their sixth year in college, even though they were only eighteen. Just like their mother, they were intelligent and exceeded everyone in school. They were both becoming doctors.

Since Queen Lily was still hiding her family, the president of the city, Bean, remained in charge of the entire city. Sky found out not long after meeting Horizon that she was the only daughter of the president. Not long after Jelly Bean was born, Bean became ill. He suffered for three years from lung cancer, before succumbing to the horrible illness. When he passed on, four years earlier, Rich and Horizon took charge. Rich quickly took over and kept Horizon and her children away from her friends. Sky assumed that Horizon became busy. She had six daughters in the last seven years. Along with Jelly Bean, who was seven, she had Bee who was five, Rainbow who was four, Anise who was three, Raspberry who was two, and Maple who was eight months old. Sky wasn’t surprised that he never saw her anymore. It was hard to make plans with so many young kids.

Horizon’s absence did worry Mercy. After Rainbow was born, she didn’t see Horizon anymore for check ups, or for when the younger three children were born. She had a suspension that something wasn’t right. She wasn’t able to prove it, even though Rich was starting to put off bad vibes to her. Besides keeping Horizon and their daughters away from her friends, Rich made changes to the city. Changes that included that all disabled trolls had to wear necklaces that were engraved with what disability they suffered from. Anyone who didn’t wear their necklaces were given heavy fines. A regulation that Rich put in place, claiming that it would save lives.

Queen Lily was aware of the problems. She was powerless to do anything about it. If she put her foot down and took charge, she would put her family at risk. Rich hadn’t done anything illegal yet, so she held her tongue and waited for him to slip up. She wanted him out of the office, badly. She had even said more than once that she would rather have Goldie or one of her sisters, along with their mates, in charge, instead. Something she knew she couldn’t do without uncovering her secret. She was trying so hard to hide. So much so that she had to keep her love life a secret. She had fallen in love with Chaplain Cloud and Silk. They were married quietly and lived in the apartment like civilians, even though Cloud was now a king, and Silk was a queen. 

During this time, Guy Diamond, Poppy, and Sassafras faced difficult decisions. Due to their ages, they were forced to give up their children for adoption when they were babies. All four of them were quickly adopted by their close relatives. Ruby was being raised by Goldie, Branch, and Tsunami. Peat and Moss were being raised by Queen Lily. Destiny, who was proven to be Parsley’s daughter, was given to her father to raise. Ruby, Peat, Moss, and Destiny knew who their parents were, but were so bonded to their adoptive family, that their parents decided to let them stay where they ended up, to reduce the stress they could endure now that Guy Diamond, Poppy, and Sassafras were old enough to regain custody.

It was Midwinter’s Day. A day of celebration for all trolls. It was more so for Branch, Sky, Moon, Luna, and Guy Diamond. It was their birthdays. The family gathered to exchange gifts and celebrate the birth of five wonderful trolls. Branch and Sky were turning forty one years old, while Moon, Luna, and Guy Diamond turned nineteen. They all gathered at Branch’s home, since it was the easiest for him. He was labelled as having Epilepsy. A fact that he both felt shame for and anger. His Epilepsy was brought on by a head injury from the attack nearly eight years earlier. He was also looked down upon by the villagers. The villagers all had come to hate those who were disabled, because Rich had increased taxes, to pay for medical treatment for those affected by disabilities. It caused a lot of tension for everyone.

Getting to his own brother’s apartment was always hard for Sky. He was always given a hard time by his neighbors, because six of his eight children were disabled. Something that he and Mercy couldn’t control. 

Iris stayed close to her father as they all hurried to Branch’s apartment. Her hair was in pigtails, to make it a little easier for her to use them as artificial arms. She had her hair wrapped around Sky’s wrist. She had poor vision and hadn’t been fit for glasses yet, since it was so hard to get out of the house without being bullied severely. As soon as she was at Branch’s home, she let Sky go and ran to go play with her cousins. She was glad she wasn’t outside anymore. She hated being outside.

Yin walked over to Princess Poppy. She sat by her and put her hand on her belly. “How is our little princess?”

“She just fell asleep.” Princess Poppy groaned when Yin put her hand on her belly. She was tired and already over being pregnant, even though she had another month left of her pregnancy.

“Watch out, she’s grumpy.” Prince Guy Diamond warned, before sitting down and giving Poppy a glass of ice water. He had been pampering her and treating her like the queen he felt she deserved.

“I’m almost scared.” Yin giggled, before rubbing Poppy’s belly. She wanted to have a baby so badly, but hadn’t found the right troll for her yet. She couldn’t wait to snuggle with her second cousin instead.

“Where is Moon and Luna?” Branch looked around and frowned. His oldest girls had gone into heat. It had him so nervous. Creek and Stream were also in rut. They were engaged. They were going to marry soon. He hoped that they would wait for at least their wedding day to do anything. He had a sneaky suspicion that they were not waiting. It was so hard to resist mating when a female was in heat at the same time as a male was in rut. He began looking for them. “Moon?! Luna! Get out here and join the party!”

Sure enough, Luna had snuck off with Stream and they were busy in Luna’s old bedroom. Creek had taken Moon to the closest and was also busy with her. They had no plans of stopping any time soon. They had chosen to ignore their father.

“Branch, let them be. If they want to spend their birthday party doing something else, that is their choice.” Goldie had a feeling she knew what was going on. “At least they're not out here kissing in front of the kids.”

“They should have waited. It’s Midwinter’s day. They should be out here with the family.” Branch sighed heavily. He was glad they had found love. He just wished that they hadn’t chosen their birthday to be so busy. He wanted to spend the day with them to celebrate.

“I know sweetheart. They’ll come out when they’re ready.” Goldie gave Branch a kiss. She had a feeling he was having a hard time letting go of the fact that they were growing up. They were his eldest children. “Come on, let’s go have a snack and talk with our family. You’ll feel better.” She led him towards the living space. She wanted him to enjoy the party.


	2. An Invitation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iris and Sky get invited to go to a midwinter’s day party.

While everyone was at the birthday party, Rich was making his own plans. He had recently had a fight with Horizon and was out to cause her emotional pain. He had told her he wanted a son and demanded that her next child would be a boy, even though she had no control over it. She had informed him that the baby she was carrying was another girl. He was fuming with anger. He knew she was friends with Sky and that Iris was friends with Jelly Bean. He decided he would invite them to an afternoon party to celebrate Midwinter’s day. He had grim plans for Sky and Iris. He made a phone call to a hitman to assure that Sky and Iris were killed. After his phone call, he made his way to Sky and Mercy’s apartment. He slid the invitation into the mail slot, and then headed home. He felt that no one would suspect a thing. He was already having a party, so if any questions were asked, he would say he wanted them to come over and didn’t know that they would be attacked.

When the party at Branch’s home was over, Mercy headed for the clinic. She had been called into an emergency there. Even though it was a holiday, she was on call. She had to take care of her patients at any time of the day or night, including holidays.

Sky watched her go, before escorting their eight children home. Once inside, he noticed the invitation on the floor of their home. He picked it up and looked it over. He smiled when he noticed who it was from. He hadn’t seen Horizon in a long time. He sighed when he saw the time. It started before Mercy was due to come home. He wasn’t sure about going. He usually didn’t go to parties without Mercy.

“What do you have dad?” Yin snatched up the invitation. She grinned when she saw it. “A party! Oh dad, can we take Iris?! I haven’t been to a party other than for family in years!” She grabbed Yang and squirmed with excitement. She rarely went anywhere without her twin. She was going to drag him with her, whether he wanted to or not.

“I don’t know sis. It’s so hard to leave home anymore. Everyone’s so mean.” Yang didn’t look as confident as Yin. His vision was so poor and he was always bullied severely. He took comfort with staying home.

“Yang is right. You three would likely be trash talked the whole way to Rich and Horizon’s home.” Sky didn’t look so sure. He knew Yin yearned to get out of the apartment, but with how everyone treated the disabled lately, it wouldn’t be a pleasant trip there or back for all three of them.

“If they give me any guff, I’ll educate them on albinism. It’s not like we purposely made our skin pale and ended up with vision problems.” Yin pushed her glasses up her nose and smiled when Sky crossed his arms. “Come on dad. There will probably be boys there.” She wanted to find a boyfriend, so badly. She looked very hopeful. “You can trust us.” She gave him a cute look. “We’re adults and old enough to go without permission…”

Yang hesitated, before breaking away to go to the bathroom. He wanted to avoid this conversation.

“I know you're old enough. I trust you. I don’t trust most of this city.” Sky sighed heavily and looked into Yin’s baby blue eyes. She was very cute when she tried hard. “Alright, alright, you can go. I want you three back by nine tonight. I don’t want you staying the night. Rich and Horizon are busy trolls.”

“Thank you dad!” Yin kissed his cheek, and then hurried to her bedroom. “Yang! Get ready! We’re going out! Finally!!!”

Yang groaned loudly, before finishing in the bathroom. He began getting ready to go. He didn’t want to go, but he wasn’t going to let his sisters leave by themselves either.

Sky helped Iris get ready and told her she was going to get to go see Jelly Bean. A fact that had Iris very excited. She missed her friend.

Once Yin, Yang, and Iris were ready to go, they headed out the door. All three of them had their disability necklaces on like they were supposed to. Yang had his white cane, so that Yin could focus on leading Iris towards the party, since her vision was poor and it was extra hard to see because of how bright the snow was. Albino trolls had trouble seeing when it was bright outside. Even Yin had trouble in the snow when it was sunny outside. She was managing though. She had known no different since she was born.

Not far from Rich and Horizon’s home, the hitman was waiting for Sky and Iris. When he saw the teenagers, he had to come up with a different plan then he was originally going to go for. He pulled out some chloroform from a bag and put some on two pieces of cloth. It wasn’t going to be easy to take down two grown teenagers. Once they were down, he would be able to handle Iris with ease. When they got closer, he stepped out from behind a trash can. “I’m going to need to see your identification.” He was dressed as a police officer, so that he was more convincing.

Yin stopped and nodded. “Of course, sir.” She pulled out her necklace and showed it to him. She looked nervous. She hoped that he didn’t send them home. She wanted to go to this party.

Yang squirmed due to nerves. He had come to hate police officers in the city. They were rarely kind to them, due to their disabilities.

Iris hid behind Yin. She whispered that she had to go potty. The police officer had her so scared that she was about to wet herself.

“There’s a toilet in here. Come with me.” The hitman led them into the building. It was vacant, so he had nothing to worry about, as far as getting caught.

Yin led Iris into the bathroom. She waited for her to go. She was used to helping her little sisters, so she wasn’t bothered by the detour.

Yang had followed them in and stood by the doorway to the bathroom. He listened to his surroundings and blinked blindly. Going from being outside in the bright sun, to the dark building had him completely blind.

The hitman could see that Yang was blind. He took advantage of that, and walked over to the cloth. He grabbed both of them and walked over to Yang. He quickly put a cloth under Yang’s nose and waited for him to pass out. When he began to collapse, he eased him down to the ground.

When Iris finished on the toilet, she cleaned up and pulled her panties up with her hair. “I’m done.” She tried to wash the tips of her hair at the sink, but the water wasn’t working. “My hair is gross.” She complained loudly. She wasn’t amused. She liked having clean hair.

“It’s alright, we’ll wash it at Rich and Horizon’s home.” Yin led Iris out of the bathroom. She gasped when the hitman put the cloth under her nose. She saw that he was doing the same thing to Iris. She struggled for several seconds, before she felt her world fade black. Her last moments, before passing out, were thoughts of prayer. She had a bad feeling they were not going to get out of this alive.


	3. Siblings In Trouble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yin, Yang, and Iris are in a lot of trouble as the hitman does what he wants with them.

The hitman worked quickly to get Iris wet with water. He didn’t want to leave a mark on her. He wanted to make it look like it was an accidental case of hypothermia. Once Iris was wet, he carried her outside and dropped her in a snowdrift, along with Yin’s glasses, dress, and disability necklace. He threw Yang’s disability necklace and clothes out there too. He didn’t want them to leave without facing a huge fine due to being indecent and improperly identified. He was satisfied with knowing Iris wasn’t going to be found easily, if at all, until the snow melted. By then she would die of hypothermia. Once Iris was dealt with, he headed back into the vacant building. 

A twenty year old white glitter troll, with baby pink hair, by the name of Bubbles, saw the hitman dump Iris. He quickly went over there and scooped up the child from the snow. He headed home as fast as he could to warm the seven year old up. He was worried about her. He had a feeling that the hitman was the father and he had just dumped her for being armless and albino. He didn’t recognize her, since Iris wasn’t from his neighborhood.

The hitman didn’t plan to kill the teenagers. They were not on his hit list. He decided that he would relieve sexual frustration instead, since he had no mate. He undressed himself and began to have his way with Yang, and then cleaned him up well. He then turned to Yin and raped her as well. He planned to clean them up so that he didn’t leave behind semen that could identify him as their attacker. He was a blue glitter troll, so finding him wouldn’t be easy. There were several blue glitter trolls in the city.

The hitman was still inside of Yin when she began to come to. She gasped and struggled under his weight. “Get off me! I didn’t give you permission!” She was frightened and worried about her brother and sister. She couldn’t hear either of them.

The hitman held her down and sneered. “Shut up you little slut, or this will become painful for you!” He continued what he was doing. He wasn’t done.

Yin looked up at him with wide eyes. “I’m going to turn you in. You’re raping me!”

“The hell you are.” The hitman pulled out of her and grabbed his knife. He held it to her throat. “You’re not living to see another day.” He began cutting her throat.

Yin backed up and screamed. She put her hand to her throat and whimpered when she felt blood. She saw Yang’s white cane. She ran over to it and grabbed it.

The hitman rushed her and grabbed her when she grabbed the white cane. He got a few stabs in, before dropping the knife. He scrambled to grab it.

Yin turned to the hitman and began hitting him with the white cane. She whimpered when it broke on her. She looked at the broken cane, and then at the hitman. She drew her arm back and then shoved it into his abdomen.

The hitman held his belly and groaned. He collapsed and bled from his liver. Within about a minute, he was dead.

Yin watched him die, and then scrambled towards the door. She was naked, couldn’t see very well due her glasses being missing, and had no necklace, but she knew she needed help. It appeared Yang needed help too. She had no idea where Iris was. That scared her tremendously. Once outside, she screamed for help. She was bleeding profusely from her neck and other wounds. She wasn’t sure if she would survive the attack.

A forty year old black glitter troll, by the name of Hematite, saw Yin. He was a police officer. He saw that she was wounded. “What happened?! Where is your identification? Why are you indecent?!” He led her back into the building and applied pressure to her neck wound. He frowned when he saw Yang. Something wasn’t right. He narrowed his eyes when he saw the hitman. He got on his walkie talkie. “I need backup at eight hundred and four on Walnut street. We have a DOA and two suspects.”

Yang was starting to come to. He froze when he heard the word suspect. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but it didn’t sound good. He could smell a lot of blood. He frowned when he realized that he could feel discomfort in his nether regions. He wondered why he was sore.

“I killed him in self defense. He raped and tried to kill me...” Yin whispered as she began to tremble. “You have to help us find our sister. She’s only seven years old. She’s albino and is armless.” She swallowed hard. She was having a hard time staying awake. She had lost a lot of blood. She suddenly collapsed to the ground. She was fading out of consciousness.

“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.” Hematite told Yin and Yang, before helping Yin to the ground. He looked up when backup arrived. He explained what he saw, before letting first aid responders tend to Yin. He put handcuffs on her, before they took her away for treatment. He was going to make sure she made it to jail, since she admitted to murder. He followed them, so that he could take her when she woke up and was treated.

Yang winced when he was helped to his feet and put in handcuffs. He was quiet as he was led out of the building. He could feel the cold air on his skin. He wondered where his clothes were. He was also worried when he heard that Iris was missing. “I need my white cane. I’m blind.”

“That’s your white cane?” One of the officers, who was a red glitter troll with maroon hair, named Scarlet, asked Yang as he was led out. She tightened her grip, since the white cane was the murder weapon.

“Yeah, where is it?” Yang looked nervous. He could feel the officer’s grip tighten.

“I think you know where it is, young man. Shut up and move your ass.” Scarlet continued leading Yang to the jail. The twenty two year old was not amused that he was acting innocent. His white cane was in the victim’s belly.

Yang whimpered and closed his eyes as he was led away. The air was cold, bitter, and hit his skin like needles. He wished she had at least covered him up. He was also embarrassed that half the town likely could see that he was naked.

The murder scene was immediately put under investigation. It was clear that a struggle happened in the vacant building. Pictures were taken and evidence was collected, before the hitman’s body was removed. Since no identification could be found, Yin and Yang faced fines, along with their suspected murder accusations. They were in a lot of trouble and had no idea that things were about to get a whole lot worse for them.


	4. Holding Cell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang faces danger in a holding cell, while Iris gets the care she needs.

Scarlet swiftly got Yang to a holding cell at the jail. She gave him a blanket, since he was cold and naked, and then locked him in there. She left him to book him in. She didn’t believe him, when he said that he was innocent and had been passed out the whole time.

Yang shivered as he curled up next to the wall with the blanket. He could hear other trolls in the holding cell. He had a bad feeling that things were about to get worse for him. He was surrounded by criminals. He had heard terrible things about criminals.

“It’s a freak.” One of the criminals exclaimed, before moving closer to Yang to get a better look at him. “You’re naked, aren’t you? Let me see if you’re all white.” He tried to pull the blanket off, but Yang had a tight hold of it. “I said let me look!” He yanked the blanket off, tossed it away, and looked him over. “Damn boy, you are all white. Are your eyes white too?” He made Yang look towards him. “Just about. More pink than white.”

“I’m cold…” Yang tried to find the blanket. He couldn’t see where it was tossed. He whimpered when the male had him look up. He could see his blurry figure. He wasn’t able to see anything more then the fact that the male was yellow, with orange hair.

“Oh, don’t worry. I’ll warm you up.” The male pinned Yang to the ground and forced Yang onto his belly. He rubbed Yang’s buttocks. “You’re not a virgin. That’s a shame. You’re probably still tight.” He took his swollen cock into his hand and forced his length into the young male. He began having his way with him.

“No! Get off me! Help me! Please, someone help me!” Yang cried out. Tears ran down his cheeks, as he heard the other males in the room move closer. Instead of helping Yang, one of them forced him to give him a blowjob. He heard others talk about taking a turn with him, when the other criminal was done. He was terrified that they might kill him too. He was worried about his sisters. He hoped that they didn’t suffer the same fate. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if they did.

While Yang was being gang raped, Iris was beginning to wake up. She looked around and whimpered with fear. She was snug, in a bed, and surrounded by hot water bottles. She sat up and rubbed her eyes with her hair. “Where am I?”

“You’re awake. That’s great!” Bubbles walked over to her and stood beside her. “I was really worried about you, kid. When that good for nothing male dumped you in the snow, I was worried you would get hypothermia. I am about to take you to the hospital. They’ll take good care of you there.” He wrapped her up in blankets. He had just called the hospital to let them know he was coming. Once he was ready, he headed out the door with Iris. He headed straight for the hospital with her. He wasn’t sure if the male had done anything else to her. “What is your name?”

“My name is Iris. I want my mommy and daddy.” Iris was confused and felt disoriented. She closed her eyes and began crying and screaming. She didn’t know what was going on or how she got in this stranger’s home.

“That wasn’t your dad?” Bubbles looked confused as he rushed towards the hospital with the child. He already planned to help her get the help she needed.

“My daddy is at home. I was going to a party to see Jelly Bean with my brother Yang, and my sister Yin. We got stopped by a police officer. He put a cloth on my mouth and I don’t know what happened after.” Iris sniffled and closed her eyes. Bubbles was warm and she was still cold and wet. “Where are they?” She was so confused and scared.

“We’ll get this figured out, little one.” Bubbles got her into the hospital and hurried to the back with her. Once she was in a bed, he grabbed a phone. “What is the number to your home? I’ll call your parents.” He dialed the number when Iris gave it to him.

Mercy answered the phone. She had just come home and had learned that the children had gone to a party. She thought it would be Yang on the other side. He was good about calling and checking in. “Hello? This is Doctor Mercy speaking.”

“Doctor? Hello, my name is Bubbles. I found your daughter, Iris. She was dumped, unconscious and wet, in the snow by an unknown male. I warmed her up and then took her to the hospital.” Bubbles informed Mercy. He had a feeling she would soon turn hysterical. It was not news any parent would want to hear.

“What?! What room are you in?!” Mercy was deeply concerned as she gave Sky a look. She wasn’t happy that he had let them leave without him going too. It worried her more that she could hear Iris screaming and crying in the background.

“She’s in room one hundred and one. I’ll be right here to give you details. I imagine you want to get here as fast as possible.” Bubbles watched as the medical staff worked on warming Iris up more.

“I do want to get over there. See you soon.” Mercy hung up and began getting ready to go. “Felicity, you’re in charge. Sky, let’s go. Iris is at the hospital.”

“Is Iris alright?” Felicity looked alarmed. She wanted to go, but her mama had just put her in charge of her younger sisters.

“What?! Where is Yin and Yang?!” Sky rushed to get ready to go. He was deeply concerned. It didn’t sound good.

“Yin and Yang are either in trouble, or they’re going to be. We need to make sure Iris is alright first.” Mercy put a coat on and rushed out the door. She was worried about her eldest children, but her primary concern was the one that was in the hospital. She sure hoped that the older two were alright. She wanted an explanation of what happened as soon as possible.


	5. Mama Bear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mercy does a little investigating on her own, after finding out that her children were attacked.

It didn’t take long for Mercy and Sky to arrive at the hospital. They both hurried towards room one hundred and one, to make sure that Iris was alright. They had discussed on the way there that they would gather family to search for Yin and Yang, after they were sure that Iris was alright.

Doctor Saza saw Mercy when she came in. “Thank goodness you’re here. I was about to call you. They’re about to take Yin back for surgery. She’s severely injured…”

“What?! What happened to her?!” Sky’s eyes were wide and full of worry. “Is Yang here too?!”

“Someone is going to perish…” Mercy whispered angrily, before peeking in on Iris, since she was right there. “Iris seems alright. Sky, stay with her. I’m going to go help with Yin’s surgery.” She looked at Doctor Saza. “Explain to me what happened, now.”

“Yang is not here. Yin was attacked by a middle aged blue glitter troll. He’s in the morgue. She killed him in self defense. I was trying to convince the police officer who brought her in, that she would never kill another living soul, unless she felt it was necessary to protect herself or her siblings. He told me she will still go to jail. She admitted to his murder.” Doctor Saza explained to Mercy as she led her towards the surgical wing. She didn’t look amused. Yin was a medical assistant in the hospital. She knew that the young female was gentle natured, unless provoked.

Sky rushed into the room his daughter was in and got the information he needed to make sure she was alright, before taking her into his arms. He held his daughter and told her that he was sorry he wasn’t with her to protect her. He was guilt ridden that he didn’t stop the jerk who had attacked her and her siblings.

“Bubbles saved her life, Sky. She’s unharmed and a little cold. She’s warmer than when she got here.” River reassured her friend. She had started to work as a nurse at the hospital. She was glad that Bubbles saved Iris.

“I only did what I felt was the right thing to do. She should have never been put in that sort of danger.” Bubbles watched Sky as he snuggled with his child. He was glad she was safe in the arms of her father. “Where is Doctor Mercy? I thought she was coming.”

“Yin is here. She’s about to have surgery. Mercy went there to help. I wish I knew where Yang was. If Yin is hurt, he is probably no better.” Sky had tears in his eyes. His family had no luck and it only seemed to get worse through the years. He wished that they didn’t have so much bad luck.

At the surgery wing, Mercy helped with the surgery. The more she saw, the angrier she became. Once she was sure that her daughter would live, she checked to see if she was raped as well. She saw that she was. She quietly collected the semen and put it in a glass jar. She gave it to Doctor Saza. “Take this to genetic testing. I’m going to go have a look at this attacker.” She left Yin in capable hands. She stopped when she saw Officer Hematite. She glared at him. “My daughter is innocent. I’m going to help prove it. You better make sure nothing else happens to her. I’m very angry that she is arrested.” She glared at him. “Where is her twin brother, Yang?”

“She admitted to her crime, madam. I’m only doing my job.” Hematite said firmly. “Yang is the young male that was with her? He was taken to the jail. He’s likely waiting in the holding cell until morning. He’ll be transferred to a room in the morning.” He recognized her. He wasn’t sure where he had seen her before. He wasn’t intimidated when she glared at him. He was used to handling rough and tough trolls.

“That’s just wonderful…” Mercy seethed as she glared at him for a few more minutes, before she went to the morgue to take a look at the male who attacked her daughter. They had just opened him up for an autopsy. She could see that he had bled to death internally. She refrained from touching him. She didn’t want to interrupt the autopsy. The evidence would lead to her daughter’s innocence. Once she had a good look at him, she headed back to room one hundred and one, to talk to Sky. Once there, she told him what she knew and told him that Yin would survive, but was going to need to stay at the hospital for at least a few days.

Sky took in the information and frowned when she didn’t mention Yang. “Where is our son?” He was so worried about him.

“Our son is at jail. I’d sure love to know why. He wouldn’t harm a fly.” Mercy checked Iris over. She saw that her underwear was still on. That made her feel a little better. “Mama is just checking down here sweetheart. I won’t touch.” She took a quick peek. She didn’t see any injuries around Iris’ vulva. “Thank goodness…” She pulled her daughter’s dress down and then took her into her arms. “My baby…” She held her and closed her eyes. She planned to call the jail, after cuddling with Iris for a little while. She was unaware that her son was being attacked.

Iris let her mama check her, and then cuddled into her when she snuggled with her. “It was scary mama.” She didn’t want to pass out like that again. She didn’t know just how lucky she had been. She would have died if Bubbles hadn’t seen the hitman dump her.

Bubbles watched the family as they snuggled with the little girl that he had saved. He was glad that she was reunited. He planned to make a police report, to let them know what he had seen. He wanted to do what he could to help their case.


	6. A Bloody Mess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang continues to deal with the criminals in the holding cell.

While Iris and Yin got the care they needed, Yang’s condition continued to decline. After several males mated with him, he was sprawled on the floor. He had a black eye and bruises, from being beaten by one of the bored males. Most of the criminals had left him, now that he was bleeding from his anus. Most of them didn’t want to deal with the blood. There was one that took this time to mate with the severely torn male. The blood didn’t bother him at all.

“Please stop…” Yang whispered weakly. He whimpered from feeling so violated and hurt. He could feel the blood as it pooled under him. He was no longer cold, yet felt numb. His body was starting to shut down, due to shock and blood loss.

“I’m not done yet, you little pansy.” The criminal murmured. After he cummed, he moved to the sink and cleaned up the mess around his midsection.

Yang let out a soft whimper. He was barely conscious and was no longer able to move. He closed his eyes and thought of his family. They were his life. He wished he could be with them one more time, before he died. He wasn’t sure he was going to live to enjoy another day.

Scarlet had just finished paperwork when she got a call from the hospital. They told her that evidence pointed towards self defense. They told her that she could let Yang go home. She walked over to the holding cell. “Yang? We’re going to give you a ride to your home.” She frowned when she saw that he was motionless. She looked at the guard that was supposed to be watching the prisoners. “What happened to him?!” She nudged her coworker. She could see that he was distracted with a book.

The guard looked up from his book. “They got a little rowdy with the new prisoner.” He shrugged and went back to reading. He didn’t pay much attention to the holding cell, even though it was his job. He felt that the pay cuts lately were not worth the job. He wanted to be fired so he could feed off unemployment.

Scarlet went into the holding cell and checked Yang’s pulse. It was weak and beating fast to make up for the loss of blood. She picked him up and carried him out. She used her hair to lock the holding cell door. She glared at the guard before bolting out the door to take Yang to the hospital. She would deal with the neglectful guard later. She knew if she didn’t get Yang to the hospital, he would die. He had already lost a considerable amount of blood. “Hold on Yang. I’m so sorry. You weren’t lying when you said you were innocent. You shouldn’t have gotten hurt.”

Yang let out a groan as Scarlet carried him. He was getting too weak to respond to her, even though he could hear her. Blood dribbled on the snow as he was carried to the hospital. He passed out in Scarlet’s arms. He was knocking on death’s door.

Scarlet arrived at the hospital and settled Yang down on an emergency room bed. She backed up and watched as the nurses worked on saving Yang’s life. She clenched her fists and growled. “That lazy son of a bitch. He’s fired, or I quit. This is ridiculous!” She had joined the force to help trolls. It wasn’t about the money to her. She was furious that Yang had been so badly injured that he was bleeding out.

“Mercy! Your son is in here!” River called out, knowing Mercy was only a couple of rooms away. She immediately worked on stopping the flow of blood from his anus. Once she got the blood to stop, externally, she grabbed blood from the blood bank and intravenous fluids. She set him up, so that he could restore his blood. She hoped that they could give him more blood then he would lose, while they fixed his anal tear. She was worried that he might die, like Yin had almost done just a few hours earlier.

Mercy came rushing in and frowned when she saw all the blood. She immediately felt the need to kill whoever it was that had hurt her eldest biological child. “We need to get him to surgery, now. He’s lost a lot of blood.” She glared at Scarlet. “You’re to explain what happened while we rush him to the surgical wing. Move!” She helped move Yang to the surgical wing. She didn’t want to lose her only biological son.

Scarlet followed them and explained what she knew. She informed Mercy that she planned to report the guard who had neglected to protect Yang from harm. She was livid that this happened. Even guilty convicts were not supposed to get hurt like this. She was even angrier that Yang was innocent and was so severely injured that he could die.

Mercy was flushed with anger. She planned to help her son in surgery, and then do what it took to get justice. Her babies should have not gotten so badly injured. She was a mama on a mission.


	7. A Unlucky Officer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An incident at the end of the day, puts Scarlet in danger.

It took a few hours of surgery, before Yang’s tear was fixed. It took longer than expected because the tear was so severe. Mercy was worried that it wouldn’t heal properly, so she ended up making a hard decision. She set her son up with a colostomy bag, so that his anus had time to heal, without being disturbed by bowel movements. He was set up on antibiotics and pain medication. He was a sick troll and was going to need time to recover from his severe injuries.

Scarlet felt awful for what happened. She stayed to make sure he made it through surgery, even though her shift was over. Once she was assured that Yang would survive, she prepared to leave to go home. She had given Sky her phone number. She asked that he keep her updated. She wanted to do what she could to help Yang. She didn’t think he deserved what happened.

Sky watched her go. He hoped that between Bubbles and Scarlet, Yin and Yang would not endure anymore hardships. It wasn’t going to be easy for his eldest children for a while. Even though it was proven that they killed in self defense, they faced heavy fines, along with their injuries. Neither of them made a lot of money at their jobs and were heavily discriminated against. They didn’t even make enough to move out of their home yet. They had never admitted to it, but Sky suspected that they were paid less, due to their disabilities. He wished life wasn’t so hard for them. He planned to call Branch in the morning, to inform his twin what had happened during the night and to assure him that despite the hell he had endured during their birthday, he was just glad that all three of his babies had survived the ordeal. It could have ended a whole lot worse for all three of them.

It was dark outside and nearing midnight. Scarlet headed straight for her home. She still had her uniform on as she walked down the street. Most trolls had long gone to bed, after a long, cold holiday. She could see smoke as it came out of some of the chimneys. She thought of putting some wood into her fireplace that night. She wasn’t sure if she was going to be able to sleep that night, after everything she had seen and heard. She didn’t work the next day, so she had no where she had to be. She could stay up for as long as she needed to. She glanced at a large home as she walked past it. It was Rich and Horizon’s home. She could see that the lights were still on. She thought perhaps they still had guests over, that hadn’t left yet. She could smell light hints of alcohol in the air.

Rich saw the young glitter troll when he peeked outside. He was staggering drunk as he stepped outside. He headed straight over to her and smiled. “Officer, come and have a drink. It looks like you’ve had a rough night and the holiday isn’t quite over.” He could see and smell that she had some blood on her uniform. He also picked up on the strong scent of a troll in heat. He led her towards his home. He had dark plans with her and he was sure he could get away with it, since she was a stranger.

Scarlet hesitated as she was led towards Rich’s home. She glanced around when she went inside with him. She hadn’t been in their home before and was surprised that Rich had invited her in. She wasn’t sure about drinking at the president’s home. She didn’t want to lose her job. “Oh, I don’t really drink.”

“Just have one. It’s Midwinter’s day.” Rich began fixing her a drink. While he was at it, he slipped a powder into her drink. The substance was Ketamine, which was used as a sedative. He stirred the drink and gave it to her. He made his own, without the powder, and hit their glasses together. “To another great year.”

“Yeah…” Scarlet smiled softly. She hadn’t seen that he had slipped something powdery into her drink. She took a large swallow of it. “I can’t stay. I’ve got to go home.”

“I understand. Here, I’ll get you a blanket. It’s very cold tonight.” Rich left her, to get a blanket.

Scarlet smiled as she watched him walk away. She had heard some mean things about Rich, but he seemed nice when he was drunk. She drank the rest of her drink and set the glass on the counter. She frowned when she suddenly felt faint. She whimpered as she slid to the ground. She slipped into unconsciousness on their kitchen floor.

Rich came back, covered Scarlet in the blanket, and picked her up. He carried her to the spare room of his home and settled her in the bed there. He then began having his way with her for the next couple of hours. When he was done, he cleaned her up well and pulled her pants back up. “Maybe you’ll give me a son. If you do, I’m divorcing that worthless wife of mine. She hasn’t given me any boys.” He pulled her wallet out and found her address. Once he figured out where she lived, he picked her up and carried her home. He settled her into her bed and covered her in her blanket. He headed home, quickly, before anyone saw him there. He didn’t want anyone to know what he had just done.

Scarlet was out cold and blissfully unaware of what had just happened. Later that morning, she woke up to go to the bathroom. She noticed she was sore and wasn’t sure how she got home. She barely remembered having a drink with Rich. She felt drunk and disoriented as she went to the bathroom. Once she was done, she turned around and puked into the toilet. The drugs in her system were working their way out, but not without nasty side effects. She felt awful and had no idea that she had just been raped. If she had known, she would have called and reported it immediately.


	8. A Mother Flees

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a harsh fight with Rich, Horizon flees her home with her daughters.

For the next week, Yin and Yang got the care they needed at the hospital and were going to get released the next day to go home. They had many visitors while there, including family and friends. Iris refused to leave Yin’s side, after being reintroduced to her oldest sister. She wanted to make sure that her sister recovered from her injuries. Yang was having the hardest time with his recovery. He didn’t like that he had no control over when he had a bowel movement. He asked for no visitors. He still got them, because his family was so worried about him. He also had a new visitor. Scarlet spent about an hour each day visiting him and talking to him. She felt responsible and wanted to make sure he recovered from the incident. She even offered to pay for their fees, since the court house was still charging the twins for not wearing their necklaces, despite proof that they had lost them because of their attacker. Mercy thought it was sweet, but refused to accept it. She knew police officers didn’t make that much money lately.

Scarlet didn’t put much thought into what happened the night of Midwinter’s day. She excused her black out with getting too drunk. She was grateful that she had at least made it home without getting hurt. So many bad things could have happened when she was drunk and her memory had been affected.

Rich was glad that Scarlet never reported the unusual incident. It seemed that he had gotten away with rape. He was angry, however, that Iris and Sky were still alive. It seemed that no one had found evidence of his involvement. He wanted it to stay that way. He had a feeling that he was walking on thin ice. He didn’t want to see that ice break.

Horizon was six months pregnant and becoming increasingly exhausted. Rich rarely let her rest, even though they had six daughters, with a seventh daughter on the way. She was in the middle of making dinner, when she felt a contraction. She winced and put her hand on her belly. She turned the stove off and backed away. Sweat rolled down her brow. She was so tired and hot. She didn’t look forward to dealing with pushing too.

“Why did you turn the stove off? I’m hungry!” Rich got up from the kitchen table, where he was sorting through his money and planning his next vacation.

“You’re going to have to finish it this time. I think I’m going into labor.” Horizon looked up at him with tears in her eyes. She didn’t want to finish cooking. She wanted to rest between contractions. She had been through this six other times. She knew how hard it was. She knew she needed her strength.

“Finish the goddamn meal so you can feed our brats and I! Now!” Rich yelled at her. He turned the stove back on and pushed her towards the stove. “Move your ass!”

Horizon screeched when Rich pushed her. She put her right hand on the burner, so that she didn’t hit her belly on the stove. She screamed in pain and backed away. “That hurt!” She rushed to the water faucet and began running cold water on her burnt hand. She winced as the cold water hit her throbbing hand. She checked it over. She had immediately lost a layer of skin from the hot stove touching the bare skin. Tears ran down her cheeks. She knew that doing chores and taking care of a newborn was going to be rough with a burnt dominant hand.

Rich glared at Horizon as she fussed over her injured hand. “Watch what you’re doing next time!” He started slamming things around, before grabbing a stack of plates from the cabinet. He didn’t want to help her, but it was clear he had no choice. “Hurry up with the water! It doesn’t look that bad!”

Horizon turned the water off and hurried to the bathroom. She got the first aid kit out and wrapped her hand in gauze. She sniffled and wiped a few tears away once she was done wrapping her hand. She winced during the next contraction. She waited for it to finish, before walking back to the kitchen. She quietly went back to tending to dinner. “It’s almost done.”

Rich grumbled as he went to put his money away. He came back with Maple in his arms. He settled her in her high chair. “Jelly Bean, Bee, Rainbow, Anise, Raspberry come in here and eat!”

All five of their eldest daughters came in and took their seats in their chairs. They waited quietly for their dinner. They had learned early in their life not to upset their father. He was scary when he was angry. They had heard him yelling at Horizon just minutes earlier.

Horizon finished dinner and served the plates. Once they were full of food, she carried Rich’s plate to him first. She startled badly when her water broke. It was quickly followed by a contraction. She dropped the plate and widened her eyes when the food and plate shards scattered on the floor.

Rich got up off his seat and sneered when he saw the mess. “What the hell did you just do?!” He yelled at her, before walking over and smacking her upside the head. “You’re worthless and clumsy!”

“Don’t hurt mama!” Jelly Bean got up and clung to her mother. She didn’t like when Rich hit her mama. She teared up and began to cry.

Bee, Rainbow, Anise, Raspberry, and Maple began to cry too. They were upset because Horizon and Jelly Bean were upset. They had also been startled from what just happened.

Horizon rubbed her head with her left hand and sniffled. “I’ll get it cleaned up. Just give me a few minutes.” She tried to crouch down, but it was impossible due to her enlarged belly.

“I’ll help you mama.” Jelly Bean reached down to grab a shard. She startled when Rich grabbed her hand. She looked up at him with wide eyes. He scared her a lot.

“You’re not helping her! Move your ass!” Rich shoved his eldest daughter out of the way. He then pushed Horizon to the ground. “Clean it up! You’re the cause of this mess!”

Horizon fell over and screamed in agony, due to bearing weight on her injured hand and from plate shards going into her knees and uncovered hand. She trembled as she reached for a towel with her hair. She began cleaning up the birth fluids and food. She was frightened and worried. This was the worst he had treated her while in labor. He was so much nicer to her the first and second time she gave birth. After that, he began to change. She was afraid to leave him. She was worried he would take her daughters and run with them.

Jelly Bean watched her mama for a few minutes, before grabbing the trash can and pushing it over to her mama, so she didn’t have to get up and down. She liked helping her mama when she did chores. It always made her mama smile.

“I told you that you’re not helping her!” Rich grabbed Jelly Bean’s arm and yanked her towards him. He began spanking her. He was livid that she wasn’t listening to him.

“Stop hitting her! She was just helping!” Horizon snapped angrily. She hated when he hit the children. “She did nothing wrong!” She tried to get up, but was so exhausted.

Jelly Bean screamed in pain and fear. She tried to block her father’s smacks. Her bottom was on fire from being bare as it was smacked.

“Clean up this mess and feed our children! I’m leaving!” Rich twisted Jelly Bean’s arm so hard in anger it broke. He backed away, before storming off. He hadn’t meant to break his daughter's arm. He had a bad feeling that he was in a lot of trouble. He was going to have to try to excuse it as an accident.

Horizon had heard the snap. She got up as carefully as she could, despite the pain and exhaustion she was in. Once she was on her own two feet, she quickly scrapped the shards off her left hand and then wrapped it in gauze so she didn’t scratch up Maple when she picked her up. She then checked Jelly Bean over. “Oh sweetheart, I’m so sorry. That was very mean of your father.” She had tears in her eyes as she embraced her. “This is the last straw…” She sniffled and choked up on tears. “Let’s get to the hospital. We’ll be safe there.” She picked Maple up and tucked her into her hair. She began leading her five older children out the door. She wanted to carry Jelly Bean, but her hands were injured.

Jelly Bean was screaming and crying in pain. She wasn’t able to use her right arm. It was causing her a lot of pain. “It hurts mama!”

“I know sweet pea. I’m so sorry.” Horizon headed for the hospital with her six daughters. She had to stop during each contraction. She was determined to get her eldest to the hospital. She needed her arm checked. She was going to get her there, even if it meant she would give birth on the way, in the cold winter air.

It took about an hour due to the slow pace of the laboring mother and the slower toddlers. Once at the hospital, Jelly Bean was taken to get a radiograph of her arm. Horizon watched as her eldest was carried away. She widened her eyes when she saw Mercy. She hadn’t seen her in a couple of years. “He broke her arm…” She felt like a terrible mother. “I’m so sorry…”

Mercy had seen Jelly Bean as she was rushed to get a radiograph. She had gone to see if Horizon was there. She wasn’t prepared to see Horizon in the shape she was in. She looked underweight for a heavily pregnant mom. She was covered in bruises and fresh injuries. It was no wonder no one saw her anymore. It was clear Rich had been hiding her due to being abusive. She was clearly severely neglected and abused by her mate. The children were not much better. “Oh Horizon, I wish you told me.” She led her towards a hospital room, so she could tend to her injuries.

“I’m so sorry. I was so scared…” Horizon burst into tears as she led towards a hospital room. “I feel the urge to push…” She stopped right beside the bed and hollered in pain. She began pushing. Her baby wasn’t waiting for anyone to help. It was in distress. It was clear, because the birthing fluids were not a normal color and had a foul smell to it. Her baby had had her first bowel movement while inside her mama.

Mercy was right there and caught the newborn girl as she was born. She gently settled her onto the bed and began cleaning her with the blanket that was draped on the bed. “Hello sweetheart.”

The newborn was underweight for her age, pale, and listless. She wasn’t breathing yet. She was malnourished and was anemic. She was barely alive.

Horizon’s daughters were all screaming and crying. The ordeal had frightened them.

Horizon felt dizzy. She quickly picked Maple up from her hair and put her on the bed. She stumbled a few steps, before collapsing to the floor. The exhausted mother could no longer stand. She whimpered in pain and exhaustion. She was glad she at least got her second youngest on the bed so she didn’t fall too. “Is my baby alright?” She whispered weakly.

River came in and helped Horizon into the bed. She checked the exhausted mother over and helped her with the after birth, since she was so tired.

Mercy was still working on the newborn. She wasn’t able to get her to cry. She wasn’t ready to give up on her though. “Come on little one. I need you to cry.” She began giving her breaths. She had a bad feeling that this little one wasn’t going to make it. She was so sick.

Horizon watched as Mercy tried to revive her youngest. Tears ran down her cheeks. “Oh my god, no…” She watched as her other five daughters were taken out of the room, so that focus could be on the new mom and baby. She was so weak and so scared. Her babies were her life.

Mercy tried for fifteen minutes to revive the baby. She wasn’t able to get her to cry. She checked her pulse. It was gone. She gently moved the newborn to her mother. She had delivered stillborns before, but this one had her extra upset and angry. She wanted to ask Horizon to have an autopsy performed on the baby, after she had a chance to grieve the loss of her daughter for a little bit. “I’m so sorry.” She sat down by Horizon and put her hand on her arm. She felt bad for her young friend. She was already planning on having her move in with her and Sky, until she could find a safe home.

Horizon broke down and cried as she held her daughter on her chest. Tears flowed down her cheeks. River had just finished cleaning up her burn and glass wounds. She felt that she had failed her babies. Her eldest had a broken arm and her youngest had died before she even got a chance to live outside her pod. She was so scared that she would lose the rest of her babies. She had tried so hard for all of them.

Mercy dried Horizon’s tears and comforted her the best she could. She planned to report this, as soon as she knew how Horizon’s baby died. It was clear that home life was bad for Horizon. She hoped that Rich would get justice. It was clear he was an abusive husband and father. She had a feeling he was the cause of the problems in the city too.


	9. A Livid Physician

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mercy begins collecting evidence against Rich.

Not long after arriving at the hospital, Horizon took a turn for the worse. She hadn’t even named her baby yet. A blood infection that had caused her daughter’s death was now threatening her life as well. She began having trouble breathing. She told Mercy that she was dying and Mercy had a bad feeling she was right. Her temperature was high and her skin color was poor. All available medical staff in the hospital went into the room to help the young president. She was septic and in desperate need for quality care in the hospital. She was set up on fluids, given antibiotics, and was given medication to help her body with the shock. She was extremely unwell. She slipped into unconsciousness before ever telling anyone what she wanted to name her daughter or how she came to be in the shape she was in.

Mercy had moved the dead newborn to a safe spot on the counter, before helping take care of Horizon. She was not an official employee of the hospital, since she ran a medicinal clinic with Goldie and Sky, but she was always welcomed at the hospital, due to her expertise. She often referred clients to the hospital, if she wasn’t able to help her patients naturally. She remembered when she met Horizon. She had always wanted to have as much natural medications and procedures as possible, but for this, Horizon needed all the help she could get. Once Horizon was considered stable, she wrapped the newborn in a blanket and transferred her to get an autopsy. She hoped with information about the cause of death of the newborn, they would be able to arrest Rich. After the newborn was taken care of, Mercy made her way to the room Jelly Bean was in. She could see that they were prepping her for surgery. “Can I see the radiograph?”

“Of course, Doctor Mercy.” A nurse turned off the light and showed the radiograph of Jelly Bean’s fractured arm.

“It’s a spiral fracture. Not accidental. I want to save this. I’m getting the police involved.” Mercy turned to Jelly Bean. She ran her hand through her multi-colored hair and smiled down at her. “We’re going to make sure you feel better very soon, alright?” She rubbed her cheek soothingly. She missed seeing her. It was so hard to see her in the condition she was in. She was thin, had old and new bruises, and her arm was swollen and clearly broken. It upset her that a seven year old was so badly injured. 

“I want my mama…” Jelly Bean sniffled and looked up at Mercy with wide, worried light blue and green heterochromia eyes. She was feeling better now that she had some pain medicine. She wanted to cuddle with her mama.

“I know sweetheart.” Mercy took her little hand. “You need to take a little nap first, alright? When you wake up, I’ll see what I can do, so you can see your mama.” She nodded to the nurse that it was alright to sedate Jelly Bean.

“No!” Jelly Bean whimpered when the nurse put the mask over her face. She screamed in fear from having something over her mouth. The screams slowly faded, until she was asleep. As soon as she was sedated, she was wheeled away to have surgery on her broken arm.

Mercy wanted to go with her, but she had a phone call to make. As soon as Jelly Bean was out of sight, she got on the phone and called the police station. She smiled when she heard Scarlet on the other side. “Scarlet, I need to make a police report. Get a pin and paper for me. It’s going to be an astronomical case for you.” She had slowly grown fond of the sweet girl. She remembered not long ago that she was angry with her for letting her son get hurt. She understood, now, why her son got hurt, so she no longer held a grudge with Scarlet. The officer who had allowed her son to be harmed was fired for his neglect, and was facing his own jail time for allowing Yang to be gang raped and beaten.

“Of course, Doctor Mercy. Is Yang alright?” Scarlet got a pin and paper, so she could write down what Mercy wanted her to know. She hoped that it wasn’t Yang. She had quickly grown close to the eighteen year old troll. She was starting to feel a bond with him.

“Yang is just fine. He goes home tomorrow.” Mercy looked at the radiograph of Jelly Bean’s arm again. “It’s a suspected abuse case. I’ve got a seven year old female with old and new bruises, a spiral fracture, and appears to have had her buttocks beaten. She was brought in with her pregnant mother and her five younger sisters. All of them were wearing worn clothing that were not suitable for the weather. All of them had old and new bruises and are malnourished, including the mother. The mother gave birth just minutes after arriving. The baby lived for approximately fifteen minutes. She had never cried. An autopsy is being performed on the baby now. The mother is now in shock and is being treated for an infection.”

“Sounds like a horrendous case. Can I get the names of the victims?” Scarlet wrote down the information as fast as she could. It broke her heart to hear that one of the babies had died.

“It’s President Horizon, with her daughters, Jelly Bean, Anise, Bee, Maple, Rainbow, and Raspberry.” Mercy put the radiograph into a folder and tucked it into her hair to show to Scarlet later.

“You’ve got to be kidding! I was there about a week ago. I saw no evidence…” Scarlet was stunned that that happened when she was there just a week earlier. “I’ll be there shortly to collect more evidence. I’ll see you soon.” She hung up and got ready to head to the hospital. It was hard to believe that this had gone unnoticed.

As soon as Mercy had heard that Scarlet had been there a week earlier, a frown spread on her face. She wondered why Scarlet had been there and how she didn’t see the shape that Horizon and the children were in. She would ask her about it later. At that moment, the focus was on her patients. She got up and went to check on the autopsy. She had a feeling they were going to need all the evidence they could find, to arrest Rich. Arresting any leader was extremely difficult. She really hoped they could find enough evidence. Horizon and her daughters’ lives depended on it.


	10. Crafty Rich

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rich does what he can to avoid being arrested.

About two hours after Horizon arrived with her daughters, Rich came rushing into the hospital. He acted frantic. “Where are my girls?! I went home and they weren’t there!” He looked around with a fake concerned look on his face. He was immediately confronted by several hospital staff. He looked at them and frowned. “What happened to my girls?!”

“I know you know what’s going on. All eight of them show signs of abuse.” River snapped angrily. She blocked Rich’s path, so he could not go any deeper into the hospital. She didn’t want him to put his hands on Horizon on their daughters, ever again.

“You’re not allowed in here! Get out!” Mercy walked over and pointed towards the door. She had just gotten done talking to Scarlet. She didn’t trust him. Especially when she found out that Scarlet had passed out shortly after having a drink at his home. She had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach that he had done something terrible to Scarlet, but there was no proof to prove that he did anything to her, yet.

“I came home to a mess in my kitchen. It looks like Horizon went into labor during dinner.” Rich looked around. “Where is she?! I want to see her and my baby!”

“You’re not seeing anyone. I agree with Mercy. You’re not allowed in here.” River glared at Rich. He may have been a handsome rainbow troll, but his spirit was anything but beautiful. She didn’t want him doing anything harmful to the patients. As far as she was concerned, he wasn’t going to see his children or wife ever again.

Scarlet walked over to Rich and put a pair of handcuffs on him. “Rich, you’re under arrest for child abuse, child neglect, assault to a minor, and domestic violence. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. Let’s go…” She led him towards the entrance to the hospital. He may have been acting innocent, but evidence was already pointing towards him being the attacker. Horizon was in no shape to cause Jelly Bean’s fractured arm. She was also so sick that it killed her baby. They had all just found out that septic shock was the cause of the newborn’s death.

“You can’t arrest me! I’ve got to make sure my babies are OK!” Rich made himself look genuinely concerned. He wanted them to believe that he was innocent. “Horizon has been mean to them lately. I’m worried that she hurt them badly this time. Please!”

River gave Rich a look of disbelief. She had seen Horizon for years with her children. She didn’t think Horizon would ever hurt her girls. She was far too sweet to harm a hair on their little heads.

Mercy crossed her arms and glared at Rich. He was lucky she was in public and in a different environment then when she was in the country. Things like this wouldn’t fly when King Peppy and Queen Lily were in charge. Rich would have been executed immediately. “We’ll talk about this in court.”

“Let’s go…” Scarlet got Rich out the door and led him towards the jail. “You get one phone call. Your bail is fifty thousand dollars. You get one phone call when you get there. I suggest you call a family member and explain to them why you’re in jail.”

Rich grew quiet as he was led towards the jail. He was going to make bail and fight in the court to get his children back. He wasn’t going to give up without a fight. He had already decided that he was going to win, even if it meant to cheat. He had a lot of money and there were plenty of greedy and desperate trolls in the city. He was going to make them all pay for standing in his way.

Just before they got to the jail, Rich stopped, due to an idea that came to him. He looked at Scarlet and smirked. “I can pay you a lot of money if you let me go. Imagine all the things you could buy with one hundred thousand dollars. Wouldn't it be nice to afford a bike or a wingdingle to get around the city? You could buy a lot of pretty dresses and jewels with that kind of money.”

Scarlet tensed up when Rich stopped. She put her hand on her gun, just in case Rich decided to resist. She knew he was violent, after seeing the evidence. “I don’t mind walking. I don’t wear dresses. The only time I wear more than my equipment is during the winter, just like any other glitter troll.” She looked into his eyes. “I’m not taking your bribe. Keeping moving…” She nudged him the right direction.

Rich glared at her, before he began to walk again. He was annoyed that she didn’t take the bribe. He planned to make sure she got fired, the moment he got a chance.

Once at the jail, Scarlet put Rich in the holding cell and uncuffed him. She closed the door and locked it. She turned around and was met by her supervisor. “Hello, Sheriff Frances. I just got done collecting evidence on the Rich case. He came in while I was in the hospital. I arrested him right away.”

“He’s not staying in there. He’s the president of our city and Queen Lily has let the president stay in charge until Tourmaline is found. You can’t arrest him until we are absolutely sure he has committed the crimes he is accused of.” Frances was a fifty two year old white glitter troll, with red hair and black and red heterochromia eyes. He was not amused that Rich was arrested. Arresting a leader was a touchy ordeal.

“Thank goodness you came, Sheriff. My wife went crazy and has been hitting the girls. I have no idea what happened. I came home to a huge mess. I was worried about my daughters.” Rich looked sad, in hopes that it would help him.

Scarlet had a look of disbelief on her face. She reached into her hair and startled when Frances grabbed her arm. “Sir, I have evidence…”

“Let him go, now!” Frances shoved Scarlet to the holding cell and glared at her. He thought she was being unwise. He was friends with the young president. He didn’t believe that he did anything wrong. “I’m writing you up for this one.”

Scarlet quickly unlocked the holding cell door and let Rich out. She locked it again once Rich walked out. She hung her head and fought back tears. She had worked so hard to get her job. She had only been with the team for six months. She couldn’t believe she was already getting her first write up. Especially over something like this. It was clear that Rich was guilty.

“Thank you, Sheriff. I need to go home and clean up. It sounded like my wife and children needed to be seen. I’ll go back later, to see them.” Rich left, before he got put in that holding cell again.

“Let’s go. This isn’t going unpunished.” Frances led Scarlet towards his office. He was livid that she arrested their president.

Scarlet followed him to the office. Tears ran down her cheeks. She felt shame and guilt, even though she was sure she got it right this time. She sure hoped that Rich didn’t go back to the hospital and cause problems. She wasn’t sure if she could live with herself if another incident happened.


	11. Intruder Beware

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rich comes face to face with someone he wasn’t expecting in his home.

Shortly after Rich was led away to the jail, Mercy got on the phone with Sky. She asked him to go to Horizon’s home and pick up some clothes, toys, toiletries, and necessities for the children. He got right on that. He tucked a few duffle bags into his hair and then sent their children over to Faith, Hickory, and Bella’s home, so that they were not alone. After what happened with Yin and Yang, he was jumpy and decided he wasn’t willing to trust the city at all. They had been far too cruel to his family lately. Once all of his daughters were in with their aunts and uncle, he headed towards Horizon and Rich’s home. Once there, he began going through their things. He was not happy with the amount of clothes the children had. It also appeared that they didn’t have any toys. He searched the home thoroughly, and only found one teddy bear, tucked under Horizon’s pillow. He thought that was very odd.

Rich arrived home not long after Sky found Horizon’s pillow. He sneered the moment he realized someone was in his home. He headed for where he heard Sky. “You! What the fuck are you doing in my home?!” He grabbed Sky’s sweater and yanked him closer. “Your wife got me arrested!”

Sky startled badly when Rich grabbed him. He turned around and glared at the angry young male. “I came to collect belongings for your wife and children, since all of them are being treated in the hospital.” He looked him right in his eyes. “You have some nerve, breaking a seven year old’s arm, beating your wife, and beating all six of your daughters.”

“I didn’t do that! Horizon did it to our children and tried to make me look bad!” Rich snapped at him. He didn’t want to take the blame. “You’ve got some nerve, mating with your own brother and having a deformed child. It’s disgusting!” He backed Sky up into his bed. “I’ll show you the way it is supposed to be done, and then when I’m done, I’m killing you’re stupid ass.” He began striping Sky of his clothing.

Sky gasped when Rich shoved him into the bed. Instead of fighting back, he submitted to Rich. He was extremely fearful that if he fought back, he would endure the same pain he suffered with Tourmaline and his minion. He looked up at Rich with wide light blue eyes. He had never restored his colors from when Tourmaline had attacked him and his family. He just couldn’t be happy in a world where his rapist was still alive. For the third time in his life, he was put in a position where his life was not only in danger, but was also being violated.

“You’re seriously not going to fight back? That’s a shame…” Rich took his pants off, and then forced himself on the older male. “Come on, make some noises!” He began getting rough, to try and make Sky moan or whimper. “What kind of man are you?! You’re so weak!”

Sky swallowed hard, as a flashback came to him. He was in the cave, with his family. Tourmaline had decided that he wanted to try an experiment. He wanted to see what would happen if identical twins mated. He wanted to see if they could make each other feel good. Sky had fought against it. He didn’t want to mate with his own brother. When he had refused to do it, Tourmaline had shoved Branch into him and told him that he would kill Guy Diamond if Branch didn’t mate with his brother. As the flashback got more intense, Sky began to tremble. The memory was so horrible, that he could no longer tell the difference between reality and recall. “Please don’t…” He whispered. He was horrified and disgusted, yet had no will to fight.

“Well, you’re no fun.” Rich snorted as he continued what he was doing. “About as worthless as that officer I raped last week.”

While Rich was busy with Sky, Scarlet made a phone call to Mercy. She did it as soon as she was able to, after her write up. She wanted Mercy aware that Rich was set free, so that she could protect Horizon and her daughters. She didn’t want the poor mama and kids hurt again. She also warned Mercy that Rich was going to go to his home.

Knowledge that Rich was heading home scared Mercy. She had just sent her husband to their home. She immediately called Faith and told her sister to send several strong males to Rich’s home, to assure that Sky wasn’t attacked. She hung up with them and took a deep breath. She had a bad feeling in the pit of her gut that her husband was in a lot of trouble. Rich didn’t like Sky. That had been made absolutely clear to her years earlier, after overhearing Rich say he thought Sky was trying to win Horizon’s affection. A thought that she thought was outrageous. Sky was fourteen years older then Horizon and only saw her as a friend. He was also fiercely loyal.

As soon as Faith hung up with Mercy, she got on the phone and began heading towards the door. She sat down in her wheelchair, which she used for long distances, due to the numbness in her legs. “Hickory, Bella, I’m getting our family to help Sky. He’s in trouble.” She headed out the door to get help.

Hickory’s blind eyes went wide. He headed out the door and whistled for Floofy. She had taken Sky to Horizon’s home. When she flew over to him, he mounted her, and told her to go back to Sky. He wanted to get to Sky quickly. Sky didn’t need to get hurt again. He had been through enough to last many lifetimes.

“Hickory! Where are you going without anyone to help?!” Bella ran after him and whimpered when Floofy left with him. She didn’t like that Hickory left without someone else to go with him. He couldn’t see anything more than shadows and light. He hadn’t even grabbed his white cane. She ran off to get Faith and let her know that their overprotective mate had left to help Sky. She knew they were close friends, even before they became brother in laws.

Hickory didn’t waste any time. As soon as Floofy landed, he stumbled towards what he could only assume was the house, due to it’s blurry shape. It took him a minute to figure out where the door was. As soon as he found it, he opened it and began following the sound of moaning and moving bed springs. He flushed with anger. He knew exactly what was going on. Rich was fucking with Sky, literally and figuratively. He ran into things and tripped as he made his way to Rich and Horizon's bedroom. Once there, he pulled Rich off of Sky and growled. “What the fuck are you doing?!”

“That should be fucking obvious, you blind asshat!” Rich sneered and went to throw a punch. He growled when Sky grabbed his arm. He began to struggle. He knew he was outnumbered, but he was roughly fifteen years younger than them. He was going to try and fight them off.

Sky had snapped back into reality when Hickory came into the room and yelled at Rich. He quickly got a hold of Rich’s arm and swung him back into the bed. He glared down at the younger male and sneered. “Hickory, call Queen Lily, now! We’re going to take care of this, without anyone ending up in jail for murder! The phone is on the nightstand…”

Hickory walked over to the head of the bed and felt around for a phone. Once he found it, he picked up the receiver and dialed Queen Lily’s number.

“She can’t do shit! She’s not in charge anymore!” Rich snapped angrily. He glared up at Sky. He was a lot stronger than he thought. He was livid that he had him pinned down.

“You’re wrong, Rich. She put you and Horizon in charge, so that she could hide her family from assholes like you! Oh, if we all knew, your ass would have been demoted before it even began. You’re in a shit load of trouble. Don’t be surprised if she executes you for what you have done.” Sky spat angrily. He was a livid troll.

Queen Lily heard the phone ring. She had Princess Poppy and Prince Guy Diamond over for a visit. She was not yet aware of the series of events that were unfolding that day. She walked over to her phone and answered it. “Hello?”

“Lily, it’s Hickory. I’m at Rich and Horizon’s home. I just caught Rich raping Sky. I need you, Cloud, and Silk here as soon as possible. I’ll give you more detail when you arrive.” Hickory kept his ears on Rich. He didn’t want the young male to regain control of the situation. It could end poorly for them both.

“I’ll be right there.” Queen Lily hung up the phone and looked at her daughter. “Poppy, I need you to promise me, if anything happens to us today, you need to protect yourself, the children, and our kingdom. Life might get a little hard for a while. Something bad is happening at Rich and Horizon’s home. I need to go now.” She rushed off to get Cloud and Silk. She had a feeling that they didn’t have much time.

Princess Poppy glanced at Guy Diamond, and then at her mother as she rushed out the door. She swallowed hard and snuggled into her husband. She hoped it wouldn’t be as bad as Tourmaline. She wasn’t sure she could handle that sort of situation again. She still had nightmares from when Tourmaline stole her innocence away, along with the innocence of her brother and husband. She didn’t want anyone to go through that like they had.

Once Lily had Cloud and Silk, who were at the church, she grabbed her gun from a safety box, from Cloud’s office, and made her way over to Rich and Horizon’s home. Once there, she followed the sound of a struggle, into Rich’s bedroom. She frowned, seeing that both Sky and Hickory were holding Rich down. She saw that Sky and Rich were naked. Sky’s buttock and between his legs were covered in blood and semen. She also saw that there was blood and semen on Rich’s penis. It was clear who the guilty party was, right away. Her heart sank. She knew Sky had been through a lot the last twenty years. He didn’t need this too. “Rich, you disappoint me. I thought you would be a great leader. You had potential with Horizon…”

Sky quickly explained what he knew about Horizon and the children’s conditions. He wanted to make sure Lily knew this wasn’t an isolated incident. The more she knew, the better off the results would be.

Cloud took in the scene and frowned when he saw that there were dry blood stains on the sheets. It appeared that Sky wasn’t the only troll that Rich had been rough with. He looked sad. He planned to pray that God would give the victims peace. It was so hard to live life, after living with a narcissist.

Silk blocked the entrance to the bedroom, so that Rich couldn’t escape. 

Faith and several of her friends and family were not far behind. They surrounded the home, to make sure Rich didn’t leave without a huge fight.

“You’ve lost control, Queen Lily. No one is going to believe you and your village of misfits! Even if you kill me, the city will fight back. You’ll see! You’ll all see! This will not end with me!” Rich snapped angrily. He had a feeling that he was a dead troll now. He had no escape route, and was surrounded by angry trolls.

“I’m regaining control, now. It starts with your execution. Rich, may God have mercy on your soul.” Queen Lily pulled out her gun and loaded it. “Take him to the bathroom. I’ll execute him there, so we don’t get blood on Horizon’s belongings.”

Sky and Hickory worked together to get Rich into the bathroom. Once Rich was inside, they let him go, but blocked his way out.

Rich backed into his shower stall and glared at Queen Lily, as he waited for his execution. He refrained from fighting back. It was no use at this point.

Queen Lily took aim and released a single bullet between Rich’s eyes. She watched as he fell to the shower floor. She walked over to him and checked for his pulse. She didn’t find one. “It’s over. I’ll make an announcement tonight. We’re taking over power, again. I can’t hide anymore. It’s clear that it’s not doing my kingdom any favors.” She left to get on the phone. There was a lot to do, to regain control of the city. She just hoped that she wasn’t making a mistake. She needed and wanted to keep her children, grandchildren, and kingdom safe.


	12. A Busy Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Queen Lily assures that her family and friends are safe during the new changes.

For the next twenty four hours, Queen Lily assured that Rich was taken care of, she made sure that Horizon was getting the care she needed, and made an announcement over the radio that Rich was dead. She let the citizens know that she was going to take over the kingdom again, with the help of King Cloud, and Queen Silk.

Now that the more important things were taken care of, for the city, Queen Lily asked for her closest friends, family, and their children to gather at the church. She wanted to talk to them about her concerns and wishes in the coming days. She didn’t want anything to spiral out of control if she could help it. She had already learned that Rich had made far more changes in the city then she originally thought. One of the biggest changes she wanted to fix right away was the necklace law. She didn’t realize how heavy the fine was. It made her angry that trolls were charged a thousand dollars, even if it was a mistake or if they were attacked like Yin and Yang were. She had already told the twins that they didn’t have to pay that fine. Especially since both of them already faced hospital bills for their injuries. She was already trying to figure out how to weave their bills, since they had never asked for the injuries that they had received. She had also asked that Scarlet come to the meeting, since she thought she knew what was going on in the police station. She had a bad feeling in the pit of her gut that Frances was up to no good. There were letters that she hadn’t read that were between him and Rich, that were found in Rich and Horizon’s bedroom.

Once everyone was gathered, including Yin and Yang, Queen Lily walked up to the altar and looked at her family and friends. “Thank you, all of you, for coming in here to listen to me. As you all know, I had to make a difficult decision last night, to protect the city from further damage. I’m still extremely concerned about the safety of Peat and Moss, who are the heir and runner up to the throne, when they turn twenty one. I’m also worried about Princess Poppy, and Prince Guy Diamond, who are due to take over the throne in two years. Sources tell me that Tourmaline is alive and planning to find me and kill me. He also wants to assure that my children and grandchildren are killed. I need a volunteer to make a bunker, to hide them in. I hate to keep them in isolation, but until Tourmaline is found, I can’t risk any of them.” She had chosen not to talk about Pepper and Paprika. As far as anyone was concerned, those children didn’t exist. She had kept them well hidden for the last seven years. She didn’t want Tourmaline to find out about them, just in case something happened to Poppy, Sassafras, Peat, and Moss.

“I’ve already been on that.” Branch smiled widely. He had been working on an underground bunker that had begun in his first level apartment, that he had dug out in secret for the last seven years. Only his mates and older children knew about it. He had kept it that way on purpose, just in case they needed to hide for a little while. He had already slowly and quietly stocked it with two years worth the supplies that could feed and sustain one hundred trolls.

Queen Lily blinked and let out a snort. Of course Branch made a bunker. He loved having a place to hide. Not that she blamed him one bit. He had been through so much since he was a child. She was glad he was keeping up with everything. She wasn’t sure what she would have done without all of his help the last twenty plus years. “Why am I not surprised? Alright Branch, I trust you to assure that my children and grandchildren settle down there, until I’m certain it’s safe?”

“Of course…” Branch nodded and smiled. “I take care of my family.” He looked over at Guy Diamond, who had his arm over Poppy’s shoulder. He wanted his children safe just as much as Queen Lily did.

Guy Diamond cracked a smile. He still had a rough relationship with Branch, due to what happened nearly eight years earlier, but now that he was nineteen, he understood why things had gone the way they had.

“Mom, what about Princess Marigold? I’m due to have her in a few weeks. Who’s going to deliver her, down there?” Poppy had her hand on her belly. She had her concerns. She wanted her daughter safe, since she hadn’t been able to raise her sons, Peat and Moss, and her daughter Ruby.

“The entrance is to Branch, Tsunami, and Mama Goldie’s home. I’m sure you won’t be alone. They’re a door knock away.” Queen Lily smiled at her daughter. She knew she was worried.

“There’s a phone in there too, just in case phone calls need to be made.” Branch reassured Princess Poppy. He understood her concern and had already thought that through, long before she had even married his son. He was crazy prepared after all.

Poppy sighed in relief, before snuggling into Guy Diamond. She was glad that there was access to the outside world. She was perfectly alright with hiding. The thought of Tourmaline coming and hurting her family terrified her.

“I volunteer to be down there. I can help if she gives birth quickly.” Yin smiled at Queen Lily. She wasn’t a nurse, yet, but she was working hard to get there.

“I want to be with Yin.” Yang had a worried look on his face. He didn’t want to be separated from his twin.

“Me too!” Iris looked worried. She didn’t want to be separated from Yin either.

Mercy looked concerned, but knew her older children were old enough to move out on their own. She wasn’t going to stand in their way. “Iris, you need to stay home and help me with your sisters.” She rubbed her back soothingly. “You can call her every night before bed though.”

“I can stay there and be a guard when I’m off duty.” Scarlet volunteered without giving it much thought. She had only known this family for just over a week, but the more she learned, the more the family intrigued her. She also wanted to assure that Yang didn’t get attacked again. She was falling in love with him.

“Sounds like we have a great team already.” Queen Lily sighed in relief. Her family was still in grave danger, but she was going to do what she could, to make sure they had the best chance. She hoped that her plan would work. Her family’s future depended on it.


	13. An Unexpected Addition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group in the bunker get another unexpected helping hand.

Queen Lily didn’t waste much time. As soon as the meeting was adjourned, she had all the trolls and trollings pack up their things. Satin, Chenille, Wind, Sassafras, and Basil, were among the trolls going underground, along with Satin and Chenille’s husbands, Obsidian and Excalibur. Wind’s husband, Citrine, was also going to be staying in the bunker. Some of them complained that it was not necessary to have them all down there, but Queen Lily wanted all of her children and grandchildren safe, which included those who were married in, or adopted. They also moved Iris in there, so that she would calm down. She had had a tantrum when she found out she couldn’t stay with her sister, Yin. Sky had pointed out to Mercy that she would be safer in the bunker until the city settled into a new routine, anyway. Scarlet was asked not to talk about the bunker and was told that she couldn’t go out once she went into the bunker. She was promised to be paid for her time and would be fed while down there. She agreed to the conditions. When night fell, Queen Lily had them gather at Branch, Tsunami, and Goldie’s home. She helped them move into the bunker. She hoped that they would be safe in their new home.

The following morning, Mercy went to work, as usual. Not long after she arrived, she got a phone call. She answered it, since she had just arrived. “Good morning, this is Doctor Mercy speaking.”

“Doctor? It’s Bubbles. Do you happen to make house calls? I’ve had a bad night.” Bubbles sounded nervous and winded. He was afraid to go outside. He had been attacked the night before, while going to his mailbox to check his mail.

“Of course, Bubbles. I’ll be right there. Do I need to have an ambulance come?” Mercy was concerned. She began packing her medical bag. She hoped that he wasn’t in grave danger. He had saved her daughter’s life about a week and a half earlier.

“I don’t think I need to go to the hospital, however, my wrist might be broken.” Bubbles shifted the ice he had on his wrist. It was swollen and painful.

“Alright, I’ll be there in about ten minutes.” Mercy hung up the phone and hurried out the door. She locked it behind herself and rushed towards Bubbles’ home. She had gone to the clinic without Sky that morning. He was on a forced vacation, so he could rest after being raped just two days earlier. As soon as she arrived at Bubbles’ home, she knocked on the door and waited for him to answer.

Bubbles walked over to his door and opened it. He then walked over to his couch and sat down.

Mercy went inside and closed the door. She followed him to his couch and sat beside him. She began checking his injured wrist. “Tell me what happened, and where it all hurts, other than your wrist.” She was angry that he was hurt. He had bruises all over and had a double black eye. He seemed like such a sweet young male. She wondered who thought it was necessary to lay a hand on him.

“After Queen Lily announced that the disabled no longer had to wear the necklaces outside, I decided not to wear mine when I went to get my mail last night. A group of teenagers saw me outside without the necklace. They attacked me and called me a freak.” Bubbles winced when Mercy checked his wrist. It was quite painful.

Mercy frowned and looked up at Bubbles. “I don’t think your wrist is broken. I want to give you a radiograph, just to be certain.” She looked at his neck. She did remember seeing the necklace more than once when he came to visit Iris the last week, but had never given it much thought. She refrained from asking trolls about their disabilities. It was not her business to ask, in her opinion. “I want you to pack some clothes in a backpack. I want you to come to the office with me. We will discuss a safe place for you to stay, until your wrist has a chance to heal.”

“You don’t have to do that. I’ll just start wearing my necklace again. I’m honestly not sure what the big deal is. I’m hard of hearing, but my hearing aids help me hear almost perfectly.” Bubbles sighed heavily. It was frustrating. He wasn’t hurting anyone by being hard of hearing. He got up and grabbed his backpack with his uninjured hand. He settled it in his bed and began picking out clothes and essentials.

Mercy followed him and helped him pack. She made sure he had at least a few days worth the supplies. If he needed any more than that, she would get it for him, happily. “I didn’t know you were hard of hearing.”

“My hearing aids help me a lot.” Bubbles finished packing up and struggled to zip the backpack closed.

“I’ve got it.” Mercy zipped the backpack up and picked it up. She glanced at his ears and noticed the hearing aids. She was a little surprised that she hadn’t noticed them before. She put the backpack on her back. “Let’s get you to the clinic and check your wrist out. Did anything else happen? I’m surprised you didn’t try to call me sooner.”

Bubbles walked Mercy to the door and opened it for her. He sighed heavily when she asked if something else happened. “I don’t know. I woke up this morning in the snow. Thankfully I dressed up warm enough to survive the elements…”

“I’m checking your head for injuries.” Mercy looked concerned as she led him towards the clinic. “Do you think you were raped?” She was livid that he was attacked so badly that he was knocked out.

“I don’t know…” Bubbles flushed red with embarrassment and frustration. It was a thought that made him angry. He hoped that those teenagers hadn’t gone that far.

“It worries me that they hit you so hard that you passed out for so many hours.” Mercy led Bubbles to the clinic. Once there, she set up to give him a radiograph. When it was made and developed, she checked for fractures. She didn’t see any. “Seems to be a bad sprain. I’ll put you in a splint. It will take about six to eight weeks to heal.” She found a splint the right size for him and then helped him put it on. She then checked his head for fractures. She didn’t find any. “Seems you have a concussion. I don’t want you alone until that heals.”

Bubbles held still as Mercy examined his head. “I do have a headache…” He admitted with a sigh.

“I have a safe place for you to hide. I do have one condition while you’re there.” Mercy smiled softly. She wanted more guards down at the bunker. She felt that Bubbles could help them and keep safe at the same time.

“What’s the condition?” Bubbles looked concerned. He wasn’t sure if he could help her. His wrist was so painful.

“I want you to keep an eye on a special family. I’ll explain it, when we get to my sister’s home.” Mercy led him outside and then headed for Goldie’s home. She had a feeling he wouldn’t say no as soon as he found out that Iris was down there. Iris loved him and he seemed to already be buddies with the seven year old. She trusted him with her children’s lives.

“I have a feeling that I won’t have much say in this. You’re very protective of friends and family.” Bubbles smiled softly as he walked with her. He was glad that she would help him. He didn’t feel safe in his home anymore.


	14. Excitement In The Bunker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basil and Poppy cause a little bit of excitement in the bunker.

For the next two weeks, the bunker’s new occupants slowly settled into a new routine, while Queen Lily, Queen Silk, and King Cloud worked hard on fixing the problems that Rich had caused. A handful of new trolls and trollings had joined them down there. With knowledge that other trolls were attacking the disabled, Mercy had Banana, Delta Dawn, their children, Chrysanthemum, Dandelion, and Felicity move into the bunker. Mercy hated that the only two of her children that still lived at home were Leaf and Jubilee, but she was determined to keep her little ones safe.

Yang was starting to ask when he would have the surgery to reverse his colostomy. He still hated that he went to the bathroom unwillingly. Mercy reassured him that when his anus had enough time to heal, she would perform surgery on him. She also wanted to make sure he wasn’t pregnant from the rape. Doing surgery while pregnant was risky. She didn’t want to harm any unborn grandchildren if she could help it.

Poppy woke up in the morning and began her morning routine. Once she was showered and dressed for the day, she headed for the living space and settled down on her recliner chair. She put her feet up and groaned from discomfort. Her belly was causing her a lot of pain. She had a feeling she was in labor. She kept an eye on the time. She didn’t want to alert Guy Diamond, unless she was sure it was time.

Guy Diamond wasn’t far behind Poppy with his morning routine. He got to work on helping with breakfast.

Basil came into the living space and leaned on the couch. He let out a whimper and put his hand on his belly. “Sassafras?!” He called his mate. He knew he was in the kitchen. “Our little princess is coming…” He calmed down when the contraction eased. He settled down on the couch and covered himself with a blanket. He was nervous and excited. This was his first baby.

Sassafras walked over and put his hand on Basil’s belly. “She’s a little early. Are you sure?” He frowned when he felt Basil’s belly harden, again. He looked worried. He didn’t want to lose their first baby together. He wasn’t as far along as Basil, so his belly wasn’t as round. He hurried over to the phone and called Goldie. He hoped she hadn’t left to go to work yet.

“I think so. The pain hasn’t stopped since I got up at three this morning.” Basil rubbed his belly. He was so uncomfortable.

Goldie answered the phone. “Hello? Mama Goldie speaking.”

“Mom? Basil thinks he’s in labor.” Sassafras’ voice sounded nervous. He was so worried about their daughter.

“I’ll be right down. Don’t panic. It could be false labor and if it’s real labor, she’s going to be alright. I’ve been through this before.” Mama Goldie hung up the phone and got ready to head down to the bunker. She didn’t want to waste much time. If Basil was having his daughter, she was three weeks early. It wasn’t awful, but it wasn’t ideal either.

Sassafras hung up the phone and then walked over to Basil. He kissed him several times, before kissing his belly. “Behave little one. I want you to be alright.”

Guy Diamond looked into the living space. “Is Basil alright?” He had heard the nervousness in Sassafras’ voice. He looked over at Poppy and frowned when he saw that she was grimacing. “Poppy?” He walked over to her. “Are you OK?”

“Basil might be in labor. I think I’m in labor too.” Poppy took Guy Diamond’s hand and squeezed it tightly. She was nearly due, so she wasn’t as worried as Basil and Sassafras were.

Basil put his hand down his pants. “I think my waters just broke...” He pulled his hand out and showed it to Sassafras.

“Yeah, that looks wet.” Sassafras whimpered with worry. He was so worried about the baby.

Goldie came into the living space of the bunker and walked right over to Basil. She gently removed his night shorts. “It looks like your waters broke. It’s going to be alright. I’m going to check to see how far you are from giving birth.” She checked him gently and smiled up at him. “You’re so brave, son. You should be ready to push soon.” She got ready to deliver the premature baby. She was worried, but tried to remain calm. She didn’t want Basil or Sassafras to panic.

“Mom? Poppy thinks she is in labor too.” Guy Diamond looked nervous. This wasn’t Poppy’s first baby, but he was still a nervous daddy.

“I’m going to our room.” Poppy wanted to give Basil and Sassafras some privacy. She got up with some help from Guy Diamond. She cringed when a pool of fluids began forming between her feet. “My water just broke.” She hugged into Guy Diamond and whimpered in pain during her next contraction.

Guy Diamond held his laboring wife. He understood the pain. He had been through this before. “I’m so sorry…”

“I’m going to push my baby out first...” Basil cracked a smile. The smile faded during the next contraction. He bared down and began to push. “Oh god, that really hurts!” He grasped the sides of the couch and whimpered.

“I see her head!” Sassafras reached down and wiped his daughter’s face as she began emerging. He was trembling with worry and excitement.

“Good job, Basil.” Goldie caught her granddaughter as she emerged. She settled her on Basil’s chest and began cleaning her up. She wiped her roughly, to get her stimulated. “Breathe sweetheart…” She cleared the newborn’s mouth and nose. She smiled when she let out an angry cry. “I think she’s going to be just fine. Feisty, like her fathers.”

The newborn was turquoise like Basil. She had Sassafras’ blue-green hair. She let out more cries as she was rubbed, poked, and shifted. She was cold and wanted back in the warm.

“This isn’t a competition, Basil!” Poppy snapped at Basil when he said he was going to have his baby first. Her glare softened when the baby was born. She was glad the little one was crying. She looked so tiny and helpless. She hadn’t seen a newborn for a while. She forgot how tiny they were. She tried to move, but her legs didn’t want to work. “Mmm…” She buried her face into Guy Diamond. She felt the urge to push. She began giving in to those urges.

Guy Diamond noticed she was pushing. He gently removed her panties and got ready to catch his daughter. “I’ve got her sweetheart. You’re doing great…”

“I still beat you.” Basil breathed hard and began checking his daughter’s every feature. “Wow, she’s so tiny.” He smiled when she tried to latch onto his finger. “Hungry too…” He sat up and helped her latch onto one of his mammary glands. He made a face as she latched on. “That feels so weird. I want to name her Misty.”

“She’s so beautiful.” Sassafras kissed his daughter’s head and then kissed his husband. “I’m so proud of you.”

As soon as Misty was latched on, Goldie turned to help her son and daughter in law. She smiled when she saw her son catch his own daughter. “Good job!” She walked over and helped clean Marigold up.

Poppy breathed hard and took Marigold into her arms when Guy Diamond gave her to her. “Hello, my sweet little princess.” She held her closely to her chest as Goldie cleaned her up. “I didn’t mean to have her in the living space.”

Marigold let out loud cries. She looked like Poppy, except she was glittery.

“She wanted to be part of the party. She shares her birthday with her cousin, Misty.” Guy Diamond checked his daughter over. He was a proud daddy. “She’s so beautiful, Poppy.” He gave Poppy a kiss and wiped a few tears away as Poppy shed a few happy tears.

“I meant to have Misty in here.” Basil smirked ear to ear. “I wanted to claim this room.”

“Of course you did.” Sassafras chuckled as he tickled his daughter’s toes. He was so in love with her.

“Two beautiful granddaughters.” Goldie helped Poppy back into the recliner. She helped her set Marigold up to nurse. She was glad that more grandchildren had joined their lives. Especially ones born from married couples. Guy Diamond, Poppy, and Sassafras had come a long way since Tourmaline had attacked them as children. It was great to see them with their own families.


	15. Searching For The Missing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Officer Hematite is sent out to search for a handful of missing trolls.

Later that morning, as Goldie was preparing to leave for the clinic for the day, there was a knock on her door. She walked over to the door and answered it. She flushed red as she opened the door. She knew who it was. “Hematite, I haven’t seen you in years.” She felt like slamming the door in his face. She didn’t want to deal with him.

“Goldie?! My goodness, I think I saw you just before you moved nearly twenty years ago. How are you?” Hematite smiled at her. He didn’t realize that this was where Goldie now lived.

Goldie fused her brows. “I’ve had a much better life, since you left me for that wretched she that you decided was far better than me. What the hell do you want?” She was annoyed to see her ex boyfriend at her front door.

“I’m sorry, Goldie. I made a mistake. I regret it now.” Hematite sighed heavily. “I’ve been divorced for nineteen years, after she abandoned our child the day he was born. She said we wouldn’t be able to afford him. He was disabled. I went to go find him and he was already adopted.” He glanced up at her. “I’m actually here to inquire about missing trolls. I’ve been going door to door. I’m especially worried about a young troll named Scarlet…”

Goldie’s eyes went wide when Hematite told her what happened. She suddenly realized she had raised her ex boyfriend’s son and had named him Obsidian. She hadn’t put it together for the last nineteen years, even though Obsidian was a tiny version of Hematite. “Get your ass in here.” She grabbed his hand and pulled him inside. “Sit down. We need to have a chat.” She headed for the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. She wasn’t sure if she could trust Hematite with information about the bunker. He was an employee of Frances, who Queen Lily was still investigating. She didn’t want to give the wrong information to the wrong troll. She thought of what to tell him, while she worked on making a pot of coffee.

Hematite looked confused as she led him inside. He was concerned that she might tear him a new one for being so foolish. He had realized his mistake too late to win Goldie back. He had learned a tough life lesson. He looked around as Goldie made coffee. He noticed a photo that appeared to be a recent family portrait. He checked it and smiled when he saw how many children Goldie ended up having. He was glad she got the large family that she always talked about having. He didn’t want to have as many children, which was part of the reason he had split up with her. He spotted one tiny black glitter troll in the front. He didn’t seem to belong with the rest of the family. A few of them seemed that way.

Branch came out of the bathroom and stopped when he saw that a police officer was in his home. He walked over to him and put his hand on his hip. “What are you doing in our home?!” He may have been one armed and suffered from a traumatic brain injury, but it wasn’t going to stop him from protecting his family. He didn’t trust the city’s police department, except for Scarlet.

“Branch, have some manners. We have an officer in our presence.” Tsunami came in and rubbed his protective mate’s back. “I overheard Goldie. He’s here looking for Scarlet and other missing trolls.”

“He’s my ex boyfriend. The one I told you two about. His name is Hematite.” Goldie came in with a tray that had a pot of coffee. She settled it down on the coffee table and made Hematite a cup of coffee. “He’s Obsidian’s biological father.”

Hematite looked surprised. He looked between them and then at the picture he had just looked at. “You raised my son?! Where is he?!” He got up and looked around. “I never got to meet my little boy.”

“Ah, this is the worthless sperm donor, who abandoned a premature baby for being too tiny.” Branch blocked Hematite from going further into the house. “You have a lot of nerve, giving up on a baby when he had only just begun to live! He’s lucky he was with us! He has a great life without you!”

“Branch…” Tsunami tried to get between Branch and Hematite. “You’ll work yourself into a seizure. Calm down…”

“Your son no longer lives at our home. He’s married now and has a baby on the way. I won’t tell you where he is, unless he wants to meet you. He’s only known us to be his family.” Goldie settled a mug of coffee on a coaster and patted the place he had been sitting. “Sit down. I’ll tell you about him. As far as Scarlet is concerned? I know where she is, but I’ve been sworn to secrecy. Don’t worry, she is safe.”

Hematite sat back down and looked at Goldie. “I’m going to be a grandpa?”

“I raised that boy. I’m going to be the grandpa!” Branch snapped at Hematite. He wasn’t going to let Hematite off easy. He didn’t understand giving up on any child. He had raised several and was continuing to do so, despite having debilitating disabilities.

“Come on, Branch. Let’s go cool off. You can help me make lunch.” Tsunami led his raging mate away from Goldie and Hematite. He had a feeling that Branch was angry about Hematite breaking up with Goldie and feeling jealousy. He was very glad that Hematite had broken up with her. They would have never met Goldie otherwise.

“Yes, you’re going to be a grandpa. He’s a smart young man. He’s going to college. He wants to be an engineer.” Goldie began to tell Hematite all about Obsidian. She had a feeling that Hematite had never wanted to give up his son. She was happy to fill him in on what he missed out on. He had a lot of catching up to do with Obsidian, but until Hematite regained her trust, she wasn’t going to risk exposing the bunker. She was very protective of her family.


	16. Sepsis Complications

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Horizon gets some visitors, while she continues to fight for her life.

For the next week, Goldie made regular phone calls between Obsidian and Hematite. Obsidian wasn’t ready to see or talk to his biological father. Goldie didn’t blame him and didn’t push him. They both felt that Hematite should have tried harder to be a part of his life. Hematite was going to have to gain their trust, before he was allowed to be near him. Hematite was trying. He even wrote a letter to Obsidian. A letter that Obsidian had chosen not to read yet.

While Hematite tried hard to gain his son’s trust, Horizon continued to fight for her life. It had been about a month since she gave birth to her daughter. She had decided to name her Heaven, since she had passed on. She was in and out of consciousness during that month. She had lost all of her fingers and three of her toes due to the sepsis killing her tissues. Her kidneys had failed on her as well. She was on a waiting list, to get a kidney transplant. She needed to be stable for the surgery, before it could happen. She was still far too sick to survive the surgery.

In the early morning hours, Horizon suffered from a severe stroke, which left the right side of her body completely paralyzed. She was given medication to break up the clot that had entered her brain. She was conscious and aware that she was very sick. She whispered to nurse River that she wanted to see her daughters one last time. She could feel that her body was failing her. She wanted to see her babies before she passed away.

River quickly got on the phone to call Mercy. She was the one that took the six little ones in, so that they could have a place to stay, while Horizon was in the hospital.

Sky answered the phone, dropped the phone, and then immediately dashed for the toilet with a soft whimper. “Mercy, phone!” He got to the toilet and began to get sick.

Mercy frowned when Sky ran to the toilet. She had a bad feeling she knew what was causing his sudden illness. She planned to check that out, after the phone call. She picked up the phone. “I’m so sorry. Who am I speaking to?”

“It’s River. Horizon wishes to see her daughters. I need you here with them, as soon as you can get here.” River looked at Horizon with a sad look on her face. “It’s time to say goodbye…”

Mercy felt her heart sink. It was not news she wanted to hear. Horizon was so young and had six little girls who needed her. Tears threatened to escape her eyes. She quickly wiped them away, so that her children and Horizon’s children didn’t see them. “I’ll be right there.” She hung up the phone and took in a deep breath. She straightened herself up and then quickly got to work on helping her daughters and Horizon’s daughters get ready to go.

Sky finished in the bathroom and then helped Mercy get the children ready to go. “I don’t think breakfast is settling well.” He mentioned to her with a frown. “I’ll stay home with Leaf and Jubilee.”

“I need you to come with me.” Mercy whispered to him. “I know you don’t feel well, however, this is very important. This might be the last time you see Horizon alive.”

Sky’s face scrunched up. Tears filled his eyes and ran down his cheeks. “That’s not fair…” He choked out a sob. “She’s way too young. She didn’t deserve this. She’s a great mom and friend.”

“Death doesn’t see age, Sky. You know that.” Mercy sniffled and wiped a few tears away. She took a tissue out of her hair and wiped his face and nose. She dried her own face as well. “Deep breaths my love. We need to be strong for the girls.”

Sky nodded slowly. He got ready to go and walked with Mercy and the girls to the hospital.

“Dad? Are you alright?” Leaf took his hand and held it as she walked with him. She could see that he was upset. Sky had a lot more trouble hiding his emotions, unlike her mother, Mercy.

“Just having a bad morning sweetheart. It’ll get better with time.” Sky gave her hand a gentle squeeze. He understood why she was concerned. It was unusual to see her parents this upset.

Once at the hospital, all ten of them went straight for Horizon’s hospital room. Once in there, Mercy gently settled Maple down at her mother’s side and rubbed her back as she snuggled into her mama. “We’re here Horizon…” She helped Anise and Raspberry onto the bed, so that they could cuddle with their mama too.

“My babies…” Horizon was too weak to move. Her voice was slurred and hard to understand. Tears filled her eyes and ran down her cheeks. “My beautiful girls…” She took a shaky breath. She was a very sick young troll.

Jelly Bean walked over to the bed and looked at her mother. “I’ve been helping with my sisters, like you asked me to, mama.” She reached over with her good arm and grabbed a tissue from her bedside. She began drying her mother’s face of tears. “Don’t cry mama. You’re going to get better and come home soon.”

“We can make cookies, mama.” Bee was playing with Rainbow’s multicolored hair. The five year old yellow glitter trolling was hungry. She wanted to eat a cookie.

“I love cookies…” Rainbow looked up at Mercy. She was hoping that she would make cookies. She was hungry too.

“We’ll have to make and eat some cookies when we get home.” Sky smiled softly. He had been teaching Leaf how to cook and bake. It would be a good distraction, after the difficult visit. This was so hard.

Leaf watched Horizon’s breathing. Tears suddenly filled her eyes. She remembered not long ago, when a pet beetle died. He had looked the same way, right before he passed away. “Mom, is she going to die?”

“I’m afraid so, Leaf. She’s so sick that she won’t ever get better. It’s time to say goodbye…” Mercy ran her hand through Horizon’s hair. She was extremely upset, but refused to show the children how she felt. She didn’t want to frighten them any more then they were already going to be.

The six older children began to cry loudly. They knew enough about death to understand that it was permanent. Horizon was going to go away and they were not going to see her ever again. Raspberry and Maple followed, not long after, because their friends and sisters were upset.

“It’s alright to cry…” Sky choked out a sob. He held his daughters as they cried into him. He cried with them. He moved closer and rubbed Horizon’s arm gently. “It’s alright to touch her and hug her little ones. Give her a lot of love…”

Mercy sniffled as tears filled her eyes. She quickly wiped them away, before giving Horizon a gentle hug. “I wish we could have saved you from an untimely death. I feel blessed that we got to be a part of your life for the last seven years.”

Horizon sniffled and looked between them. “I want to stay…” She looked at her eldest daughter. “My sweet little Jelly Bean, I want you to take good care of your little sisters. They need you now, more than ever.” She took some breaths. Breathing was so hard for her. Once she managed to catch her breath, she looked at Mercy and Sky. “Make sure my babies are taken care of.”

“We’ll make sure they have a great future.” Sky didn’t even hesitate. After everything that Jelly Bean, Anise, Bee, Rainbow, Raspberry, and Maple had been through, they only deserved the best.

“Absolutely…” Mercy nodded in agreement. She was more than happy to assure that the girls got the best future possible.

Horizon sighed in relief. “I love all of you…” She closed her eyes and breathed hard. She was exhausted and was having a hard time staying awake. She dozed off, with her daughters and friends by her side.

That would be the last time anyone saw Horizon awake. Just hours after her daughters came to tell her goodbye, she succumbed to complications from septicemia. Later that evening, a private burial was arranged. A funeral would be arranged later on in the week, when news spread to the public that Horizon had not survived her illness. Mercy, Sky, and the children were there, to pay their respects. Their thoughts were gloomy. Horizon was only twenty-seven years old, when she died. A death that could have been prevented. There was no justice to be found either, since the male that was responsible had died nearly a month earlier. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair at all.


	17. Six Little Orphans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now orphaned, Horizon’s daughters face the biggest changes of their lives.

After the private burial, Mercy asked Sky to watch the girls and then walked towards Queen Lily. She looked down and frowned when she saw that all five of Horizon’s older children had followed her, despite what she had just asked Sky to do. She looked back and saw that Sky had followed her. “Sky, please watch them.” She was so worried about them. All six of them had faded gray. It was so rare for a baby to fade gray.

“You know they don’t trust me, yet.” Sky had Maple in his arms. Even she was scared of him, but at that moment, she didn’t resist it. She had a dull look on her chubby face. The light seemed to have left her eyes. Sky wasn’t sure how much she understood, since she was only nine months old. She seemed to understand some of it. She was already acting grief stricken, even though she was a tiny bean.

“I need to talk to Queen Lily alone.” Mercy gently nudged the girls towards Sky. “Just for a few minutes girl. This won’t take long.” She didn’t want to be mean. She just wasn’t sure how to ask Queen Lily, without upsetting the girls further. That was the last thing she wanted to do.

Jelly Bean burst into tears, before clinging to Mercy’s arm. She held firmly to it and began to tremble. “I want to stay with you. Please don’t make me go away.” She was so scared that someone would take her away from Mercy. She had gained her trust.

Rainbow shied away from Sky, when he tried to hug her to him. She hurried behind Mercy and began to tremble. “I want to stay with Mercy.”

Bee hesitated, before walking over to Sky. She avoided eye contact with him. She was worried that she would be scolded for crying so much. She had done a lot of crying all day. She didn’t want to get in trouble for not listening either.

Anise followed Rainbow and clung to her. She was very close to her slightly older sister.

Raspberry just plopped to the ground and began to wail. She didn’t want to be with Sky. “Mama!!!” She threw herself along the ground and kicked her legs. “I want mama!!!”

“That’s not going to work, my love. They want to be with you.” Sky’s heart broke. Even though Bee came to him, she was showing signs of extreme fear. Something that he had seen a lot the last month. He had learned not to pressure them into making any physical contact with him. It was clear that Rich had abused them so badly that they feared males.

“They want their mom…” Mercy sighed sadly. She picked Raspberry up and rocked her. “Easy sweetheart…” She held her to her chest and rubbed her back. “We’re going to take good care of you. Come on, I’ll make this work with all of you with me...” She carried Raspberry over to Queen Lily. “Lily? May I have a moment with you, please?”

“Of course, Doctor Mercy. What can I do for you?” Queen Lily gave Mercy her full attention. She reached over to Raspberry and rubbed her gray cheek soothingly. She was so worried about all of them.

Sky followed Mercy over to Queen Lily, so that Maple didn’t start crying too. He rocked her gently. He was worried about her the most. No infant should go without their mother after all.

“It’s about Horizon’s daughters. Her dying wish was for all six of them to be taken care of. I want to make sure that it happens. I’m worried that shifting them into another foster home or the orphanage may upset them further. I was wondering if it was possible that we can just keep them? I would love to adopt them, but I know there is a protocol that needs to be followed. I know there is an adoption limit too...” Mercy rubbed Jelly Bean’s back as she snuggled into her. She was so worried that the six girls would be split up. She didn’t want to see it happen. Especially after Horizon had asked Jelly Bean to take care of her little sisters. If she was separated from them now, she feared that Jelly Bean would be beyond devastated. She wouldn’t blame her either. She couldn’t stand the thought of ever being separated from her own sisters. She knew how important the sisterly bond was.

“I don’t see why not. They’re already comfortable with you and they will be safe. They need to stay that way.” Queen Lily smiled at Mercy and Sky. She checked Sky’s face, to make sure he was alright with this. When she saw him nod, she looked at Mercy. “I’ll bring by the paperwork in an hour or so and we can get to work on it right away.”

Sky sighed in relief. He was hoping this was why Mercy wanted to talk to Queen Lily. He had no problem with raising six more daughters. He didn’t want to see Horizon’s children with anyone else. He knew they needed time to gather their confidence and begin trusting him. He was more than happy to be patient and welcome them into his arms when they were ready.

“Thank you, so much.” Mercy turned to Horizon’s daughters. She knelt down to their level. “I know I’ll never replace your mama, but I’m going to try so hard to fill the void that you feel right now.” She hugged them as the five older children snuggled into her. She held them closely. She was glad that they were able to get custody of them. It felt like a huge weight had been lifted from her. It was going to take time, but she had a feeling they would gain their confidence. It was never easy to be abused by a family member. She understood that more than most of her family and friends knew.

Sky gently gave Maple to Mercy. He watched the girls as they cuddled with their adoptive mother. He was glad they got them. He looked forward to watching them grow. He hoped with time, their wounds would heal. It was certainly going to take a long time. Rich had caused a lot of damage for these young girls. They needed all the love they could get.


	18. The Family Curse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sky is convinced that his family is cursed.

The next morning, after everyone had a chance to get some sleep, Sky was up out of bed and getting dressed. He wanted to go to the clinic. He still felt sick to his stomach and hadn’t felt any better since the morning before. He knew stress wasn’t helping his stomach, but something way down deep in his gut told him there was more than nerves affecting his stomach. He was almost certain that he was pregnant, for the third time in his life.

Mercy heard him moving around. She got up with him and began to get ready for the day. Her colors were faded, due to being upset over Horizon’s loss. She had held Sky during the night, after the girls went to bed, so they could both have a good cry. She was exhausted and had a headache. She refused to complain though. Her family needed her. Especially their new daughters. They were depressed and grief stricken.

“I’m going to go to the clinic to pick up a pregnancy test. I think he got me pregnant…” Sky finally admitted to Mercy. He put on his jacket and gave her a kiss. “I’ll go get Ginger and Rose on the way home, so that they can spend some time with their new grandchildren.” He wanted to have Cyprus come over too, but he didn’t want the girls to be scared anymore then they were already. He wasn’t sure how he was going to get the girls to realize that not all males were mean.

“Could you please pick up half a dozen of the pregnancy tests? I would like to take them down to the bunker. I have a feeling a few of them are pregnant down there, and it won’t hurt to have them down there anyway. We have growing families down there.” Mercy gave Sky a gentle hug. “I don’t want you taking that pregnancy test alone. If you can’t make it home, please do it at your mom’s.” She knew it was best to take the test during the first urination of the day. It was so hard to hold a full bladder.

“I can’t make any promises Mercy. I’ll try. My bladder is starting to ache. I love you...” Sky gave Mercy another kiss, before he headed out the door. He was in a hurry. He really needed to go to the bathroom.

“Mine…” Mercy watched him go. She was so worried about him. She sighed, before leaving to help the girls get dressed for the day. She could hear that Jelly Bean was awake and crying. The other five would soon follow. It was going to be a long day, but her new babies were worth it.

Sky went straight for the clinic. Once there, he unlocked the door and went inside. He locked it and ran towards the bathroom. He wasn’t going to be able to hold it any longer. He pulled his pants down and began peeing into the toilet. He put a paper cup under the stream and sighed in relief. “I’m sorry Mercy. I can’t wait until tomorrow morning.” He finished in the bathroom, before taking his urine to his desk. He sat it down and then walked over to the storage closet. He pulled seven pregnancy tests out of the closest. He put six into his hair, before taking the seventh to his desk. He ran the test and waited for the results. A groan escaped him when the results showed a positive. “Of course that monster gets another child.” He threw the test into the garbage can, angrily, and then sat down and cried into his hands. “God damn it! Why must our family be so cursed?! Can’t we get a fucking break?!” He buried his face into his arms and sobbed. “My children are probably pregnant too. Why must life be so cruel?! We never asked for any of this!”

“Sky?!” Goldie was in the office to retrieve some pregnancy tests and do paperwork. She had gotten a call from Yin just an hour earlier asking for some. She told her she would go for her. She had arrived just minutes before Sky. She had been the paperwork real quick first, when she heard Sky come in. “What’s going on?” She saw that his face was covered in tears and had heard his fit.

“I’m pregnant, again.” Sky sniffled as he wiped his face of tears. “I did it alone, because I was scared I would become angry and frighten our new girls.”

“You shouldn’t have done it alone. Mercy is going to be so upset.” Goldie sighed softly. When Sky’s face paled, she moved closer and pulled him into a hug. “Shh…” She ran her hand through his dark gray hair. “Take some deep breaths. We’ll tell her I was with you. It’s not a lie. I didn’t want to scare you. I’ve been here the whole time. You know, our family isn’t cursed. We’ve just been through strings of bad luck. Each time, we’ve walked away with more family than we had before. Family that we all love. Family that is cherished in every way. This time will be no different.” She put her hand on his belly. “We’ll help you get through this, just like the other times you’ve suffered.”

“Thank you, Goldie.” Sky hugged her and sniffled. He was so glad that she was there. “I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have you, Mercy, and Branch.”

“You’d probably be dead.” Goldie smiled softly when Sky shot a glare at her. “It’s true. Branch did save your life thirteen years ago.”

“He did…” Sky sighed and rubbed his face of tears. “I better go get Ginger and Rose, and then go home and break the news to Mercy.” He got up and headed for the door. He had a feeling he was in trouble, but he had done it this way for a reason.

“Sounds good. Tell her to give me a call in a couple of hours. I need to talk to her.” Goldie rubbed Sky’s back, before he headed out the door. She watched him as he walked towards Ginger’s home first. She was so worried about her oldest sister and brother in law. They had gone through so much lately.

Later that day, they found out that Yin, Yang, and Scarlet were also pregnant. Bubbles had also taken the test, to see if he was pregnant or not. He was relieved to find out that it was negative. He was worried it may have been too early though. He planned to try again later. He wasn’t sure if it was nerves or pregnancy that had him feeling sick to his stomach. He was so worried that the teenagers had gotten him pregnant.

With news that their eldest two children were pregnant from rape, news that Scarlet was pregnant, most likely due to Rich, and news that Sky was pregnant, Mercy and Sky quietly arranged to move into the bunker to be with their children. It meant that Goldie would be the only one in the family at the clinic. A challenge she told them she could handle. She reminded them she had Tsunami and Branch to help her if she needed assistance. Sky and Mercy needed to be with their children. All of them. After night came to the city, Mercy, Sky, Leaf, Jubilee, Jelly Bean, Bee, Rainbow, Anise, Raspberry, and Maple moved down into the bunker. They all hoped that down there, everyone would have a chance to heal and bond as a family. They were determined to let love win, after such a difficult month. Their hearts were not ready to give up yet.


	19. Impatient Sheriff

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hematite is confronted by Frances about the missing trolls.

For the next week, the city grieved the loss of the young president, Horizon. It was unusual to have such a young leader die like that. It had some of the city nervous. Especially with knowledge that Rich was involved in her untimely death. Queen Lily reassured her citizens that she would take good care of them. She didn’t want them to be frightened. She knew with King Cloud and Queen Silk’s help, everything would be back to normal in no time. There were still some tasks that had to be done, to reverse the damage that Rich had inflicted.

Queen Lily recently confronted Frances and reminded him that Rich was no longer in charge. She told him what she wanted him to change and told him that he was to do what she told him, if he wanted to keep his job. She was keeping an eye on the sheriff. She wasn’t ready to trust him. She had a bad feeling he was up to no good, just like Rich had been.

Frances did not like that Queen Lily had regained control of the city. He kept quiet and did his job, like she told him to. He didn’t want her to investigate his home or the police station. He had his own dark secrets that he didn’t want her to know about. During the evening shift, he asked Hematite to come into the office. He wanted to know where several trolls went. So far, investigation led him nowhere. The troll he wanted to talk to the most, that was missing, was Scarlet. He was angry that she had completely disappeared. She was fired as far as he was concerned. Especially after disappearing the same day that Rich had died. He was suspicious and annoyed.

“Frances? You wanted to speak with me, sir?” Hematite glanced around Frances’ office. He rarely went in there, unless something was amiss.

“Yes, please take a seat.” Frances watched Hematite sit down. “Have you found the missing trolls? Several more went missing last week. I need to know where they are.”

“I haven’t found them, sir. They’re alive. That’s all I know.” Hematite sighed heavily. “They don’t want to be found right now, according to those who know where they are.”

“Who is hiding them?!” Frances snapped angrily. “You’re keeping secrets from me, Hematite! I’m getting sick of it!”

“I can’t tell you, sir! I’ve been sworn to secrecy…” Hematite swallowed hard. Frances had a terrifying temper. A temper he didn’t want to face, but had no choice if he wanted to keep his job. He loved the job he did.

“You’re going to tell me where they are, or you’re not living to see another day.” Frances pulled out his gun and pointed it towards Hematite.

“Sir! That’s insane! Why would you kill me for not telling you who knows about the whereabouts of those who are missing?!” Hematite’s heart was beating so hard in his chest that he could feel it. He scrambled out of the chair he was sitting in and backed up. “I’m not allowed to tell you!” He had promised Queen Lily and Mama Goldie that he would not tell Frances that they knew the whereabouts of the missing trolls.

“You give me no choice, Hematite.” Frances snapped, before shooting Hematite in his arm. “First shot is a warning! Tell me now!”

Hematite hollered in pain and grasped his arm. “I can’t!” He opened the door and gasped when he saw several other officers outside the door. “Thank god, please help me! He threatened to kill me!”

The other officers grabbed Hematite and pinned him down for Frances. They were on the sheriff’s side.

Frances walked over to Hematite and hit him hard in the head with the butt of his gun, to knock him out. He spit on Hematite, now that he was unconscious. “Worthless piece of shit. I will find those missing trolls. No one hides from me.”

Hematite didn’t wake up again for several hours. When he came to, he was beyond the edge of the city. He was naked and covered in blood from his arm wound, head wound, and from his mouth. His mouth hurt him a lot. He was almost certain that he had been beaten. His ribs were causing him pain too. He felt his teeth with his tongue and found that several of his teeth were broken or missing. It was near the end of winter and cold outside. He shivered as he struggled to get on his feet. His feet were so cold that he couldn’t get on his own feet. He held his injured arm as he shivered on the cold ground. He was almost certain he was going to die, right there. He was upset that he never got to meet his son, Obsidian. Tears filled his eyes and ran down his cheeks. A few minutes later, he passed out again.

Shortly after Hematite had temporarily awakened, Amber, Emerald, and Aquamarine took Floofy out for a night flight, so that she could get some exercise, since Basil was stuck in the bunker. The three of them held onto each other and Floofy as she flew around. Not long into the flight, Aquamarine spotted something unusual on the ground. He directed Floofy to the ground. He frowned when he saw that it was Hematite. “Oh no…” He checked for a pulse. He sighed in relief when he found one. “He’s alive.”

Emerald checked Hematite for a spinal injury. He didn’t find one. “Let’s get him home. He’s not going to be alive much longer out here. Mom and aunt Mercy can treat him in the bunker.” He picked up the injured male with Aquamarine’s help and carried him over to Floofy. “He’s got a gunshot wound to his arm.”

“Looks like he has a head injury too.” Amber gently checked Hematite’s head, once he was on Floofy. She cringed when she heard some bones shift in his arm. It looked awful. She was surprised he hadn’t bled to death from his arm.

Once Hematite was on Floofy and stable enough to fly, Aquamarine headed straight home with him. Once there, he helped Amber and Emerald as they carried Hematite off of Floofy. They went inside and carried him into the front room.

Frances had followed them on his own wingdingle. He watched them as they carried Hematite inside the apartment. “So that’s where they’re hiding them…” He rubbed his chin, before leaving. He wasn’t going to go in there yet. He needed to figure out a plan.

“Are you three crazy?!” Branch got up off the couch and checked Hematite’s pulse. “Did anyone see you bring him here?!”

Aquamarine shot a glare at his father. “We saved his life.” He looked at the door. “I don’t think so dad. I didn’t see anyone look up and it’s the middle of the night. He needs help and you, mom, and aunt Mercy are the best doctors in the city.”

“I’ll get aunt Mercy.” Amber ran over to the bunker’s door. She crawled inside the floor door and rushed to the main living area to get her aunt.

“Let’s get him into the bunker. He’ll be safer down there. Someone clearly wanted him dead.” Emerald headed for the bunker door. With Aquamarine’s help, he got Hematite into the bunker. He hurried towards the medical room. He was worried about Hematite.

“What on earth?!” Goldie saw them just before they went into the bunker. She followed them into the bunker. She looked deeply concerned. She wondered who had tried to kill Hematite.

Once Hematite was settled in the medical room, Goldie, Mercy, Amber, and Emerald got to work on treating his injuries and warming him up.

Hematite was still unconscious. He was hypothermic, had a broken jaw, broken teeth, a cracked skull, broken ribs, a severely broken arm from the gunshot, and bruises all over. When they were all done, Hematite ended up losing his injured arm and had his jaw fixed and the bones were screwed back together. He was swollen from his injuries. As morning set in, it was still unclear if he would survive. He was lucky to be alive at all.

Obsidian poked his head in. He heard that his biological father was down there. He watched him breathe. He wasn’t sure what was going on or why he was down there. He planned to watch him from afar. He wasn’t sure if he could trust him yet. He wondered who hurt him. No one deserved the injuries that Hematite had suffered from. He hoped that he would survive the ordeal.


	20. Meeting New Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hematite is quickly accepted as one of the family.

Hematite remained unconscious for the next twelve hours. When he finally came to, he swallowed hard. He was in a lot of pain due to his injuries, but refused to voice his discomfort. He cracked his eyes open and glanced around. He didn’t recognize the room he was in. He was also warm and under several soft blankets. He thought perhaps he may have died, but that thought quickly left him. He didn’t think he would be in pain if he was dead. As he became more aware of his surroundings, he reached over and felt his arm stump. A sigh escaped him. He had lost his right arm at the elbow, which was his dominant arm. It wasn’t going to be easy to adjust without his arm.

“You’re awake.” Yin had stayed by his side, even though he had arrested her nearly a month and a half earlier. She understood that he was only doing his job. She had no sore feelings towards him for it.

“Yin?” Hematite whispered softly. It hurt to talk. That was going to be hard for him, but it wasn’t going to stop him. He had so much to say to her. He hadn’t seen her since he had apologized to her in the hospital for the false accusation. He remembered being suspicious of her and her brother, after finding them in that abandoned building with a dead troll.

“Yeah, it’s Yin. You got beaten and shot. Do you know who did this to you?” Yin moved closer and ran her hand through his black hair, to help release endorphins. She knew he had to be in a lot of pain, due to his injuries.

“Yes…” Hematite looked away from her. “Not safe for you to know. He’ll try to kill you too.” He had a feeling this was going to be hard. His jaw was causing him a lot of pain. 

“We need to know, so he doesn’t try to kill someone else. Queen Lily can assure of his arrest.” Yin reassured him. She understood that he was trying to be protective, but they needed to find out who tried to kill him before anyone else got hurt.

Hematite took in a deep breath and frowned from the pain in his chest. He shifted slightly and swallowed hard. “Frances and a few of my coworkers…” He tried to think of who pinned him down. His head was splitting and his brain felt foggy. He was having a hard time concentrating.

“We’ll seek justice. You didn’t deserve this.” Yin got up and walked over to the phone. She called Queen Lily. When she answered the phone, she told her that Sheriff Frances and a few of the officers were involved in Hematite’s sudden condition. Once she was off the phone, she left the room to tell her mom that Hematite was awake.

Mercy soon returned without Yin. She made sure he had something for pain through his intravenous line. “Seems like last week I was angry with you. I didn’t think you would be down here with us. Fate has decided otherwise.”

Hematite watched Mercy quietly. He whispered that he was sorry. “Please tell Obsidian that I’m sorry to him too.”

“I’ll let him know.” Mercy made sure his fluids were flowing. She didn’t want him to get dehydrated. She checked his gums and found that he was still quite pale. “Looks like you need another blood transfusion. You lost a lot of blood from your arm injury. We had to remove it. There wasn’t much left of your forearm. The bones were shattered, along with the muscles, and nerves being severely damaged.” She set up another bag of blood, that was on standby.

“At least I survived…” Hematite sighed heavily. He shifted and then sat at the edge of the bed. He was too dizzy to stand yet, but he had to go to the bathroom, badly.

“Whoa, you’re not getting up right now. You just woke up and you have a severe head injury.” Mercy blocked Hematite so he couldn’t get up.

“I need to go to the bathroom. Please move. I don’t want to make a mess.” Hematite murmured crankily. He held back crying out in pain as Mercy helped him back into the bed. He put his left hand down between his legs to hold himself.

“You’re using the bedpan or urinal at least the next few days, until you regain your composure. I don’t want you to fall. A fall right now would be detrimental.” Mercy grabbed an urinal and walked back over to him. “Do you need help?”

“No, I don’t need help.” Hematite eased up onto his bottom again and then positioned the urinal so he could pee. He closed his eyes as he urinated. He was so dizzy and in so much pain. He was trying so hard not to show his discomfort. He began to weave on the bed. He was having a hard time holding still.

“I can see where Obsidian got his tenaciousness and temper.” Mercy made sure he didn’t fall over. Once he was done, she placed the urinal aside and helped him back into the bed. She covered him up and tucked the blankets around him. “You need to rest. Your injuries are life threatening. I don’t want you dying on us.” She left to take care of the urinal.

Hematite closed his eyes and breathed slowly, but steadily. “Trying not to kill over.”

“Mom? Chenille thinks she’s in labor.” Excalibur came in with his wife and sister in law. He looked very nervous. She was having his first baby.

Chenille looked at Hematite. She had her hand on her swollen belly. “Maybe we should have the babies in our room? I don’t want to bother Hematite. He needs to rest.”

“The medical room is big enough. I want you safe.” Satin looked worried. Chenille was having twins. She recalled her mother saying she almost died having them. She didn’t want to take any chances on her twin sister.

Obsidian was right behind Satin. He peered around her and looked at Hematite. He wasn’t expecting to have to face him this soon after he came down there. He was acting shy.

“Hematite will be fine with you four in here. He’ll likely doze off when his pain medicine has a chance to kick in.” Mercy led Chenille over to a bed and put a curtain up so she had some privacy. She helped her out of her panties and saw that her waters were broken. She helped her out of her clothes and helped her settle in the bed. “I’m going to check you.” She gently checked her. She found that she was a little open. “It might be a few hours. Rest between contractions.” She got ready to deliver her granddaughters. They were not her first adoptive grandbabies, but she was excited like she always was when a new family member arrived.

Hematite watched as Obsidian and his family moved behind the curtain. He quietly rejoiced at the fact that he got to see his son, even if he didn’t say anything to him.

Satin was about to sit down by the bed, when her own water broke. She looked down at the puddle. “Looks like our kids want to share birthdays.”

“Looks like it.” Excalibur smiled at Satin. He helped her undress and settle into the bed beside Chenille. “Do you girls need anything?”

“Water would be nice.” Chenille whispered softly. She looked nervous. She was a first time mother and wasn’t sure about being so close to Hematite. She didn’t want to make too much noise and keep him awake.

“I can get the water.” Obsidian headed out of the medical room. He went to get two glasses of water for his wife and sister in law. He soon returned and gave them each a glass to drink from. He settled down beside Satin and held her hand. He was so nervous.

For the next four hours, Satin and Chenille endured the pain of labor. Chenille was the first to have her babies. She had named her daughters Snow and Dream. They were not hair tied. Snow was a white trolling, with light blue hair. Dream was blue with pink and purple two toned hair. She had them set up to nurse, as her sister pushed her baby out. Satin got her baby out after only a few pushes, since she was a dwarf sized baby, like her father. Mercy settled her on Satin’s chest and began cleaning her up. The little one looked like a tiny version of her daddy. She cried on her mama’s chest. She was a healthy black glitter trolling.

“She’s beautiful.” Obsidian gave Satin a kiss and watched as his daughter sprawled and cried. He was a proud first time father.

“Her name is Shadow.” Satin settled Shadow on her chest and set her up to nurse, with Mercy’s help.

“You two did a great job.” Mercy cleaned up the afterbirth, diapered Shadow, and then backed up and then left to let the two families bond. She was so proud of them.

“She looks just like you, Obsidian.” Excalibur observed from his side of the bed. He was holding Dream skin to skin, on his chest. He was a very proud new papa.

“She does. Poor thing…” Chenille smiled when Satin shot a glare at her. She shifted Snow on her chest. “Hey, you’re the one that married him.”

“Be nice…” Satin grumbled crankily. Once Shadow was done nursing, she burped her and then gave her to her daddy. “Why don’t you take her over to Hematite? He needs to meet his granddaughter.”

“I’m not ready…” Obsidian whispered to his wife as he looked down at his newborn daughter. He wasn’t sure about talking to Hematite.

“Obsidian, we don’t even know if he’ll survive. He should meet you and Shadow, just in case we lose him.” Satin pointed out to him gently. “I endured labor and pushed this little one out for you. The least you can do for me today is take her over there and introduce her to him.”

Obsidian hesitated, before getting up and carrying Shadow over to Hematite. He wanted to live. He noticed that Hematite was awake. “So, you’re my dad?”

“Yeah…” Hematite watched his young son. He could see that he had a very tiny bundle in his arms. He wondered if Obsidian was that tiny when he was born. He thought perhaps he could have even been smaller. He knew his son had been premature. “I’m so sorry. I never wanted to give you up.”

“Mom told me my biological mother was the one that gave me up. She shouldn’t have done that to you.” Obsidian frowned and looked down. “I’m not repeating history. I can make the future better though. I want to give you a chance, but I need time. For now, you at least deserve to meet me and my daughter. Her name is Shadow.” He gently showed his newborn to her biological grandfather. “Hurt her and perish.”

“She’s perfect…” Hematite felt tears sting his eyes. He used the blanket to dry his face with his left hand. He had a long recovery ahead of him, but he was glad he had that time to spend with his family. He hoped to one day gain his son’s trust. He certainly had all the time in the world to reverse the damages that were done now.


	21. A Little Sugar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A home invasion clues Queen Lily in on part of what Frances has been up to lately.

While Hematite enjoyed some time with his son and granddaughter, Queen Lily was hard at work on gathering enough trolls to help her confront Frances and those who helped him beat Hematite to near death. Once she was confident that she had enough help, she went to Frances’ home first. She forced her way into his home and helped them search for Frances. She found him in a bedroom, with a very young female in his bed. He was mating with the young troll.

Sugar was an eighteen year old white glitter troll, with baby blue hair, one light blue eye, and one dark blue eye. She got out of the bed and looked at the strangers with wide, worried eyes. She guarded her enlarged belly. It was obvious that she was pregnant.

Frances got up and glared at them. “What is the meaning of this?! Leave my girlfriend alone! She’s pregnant!” He got up and scrambled for his gun.

King Cloud pinned Frances down so that Frances could be put in handcuffs. He glared down at him. “Frances, you’re under arrest for the attempted murder of officer Hematite. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.”

“Are you alright?” Queen Lily walked over to Sugar and offered her hand. She saw that she was frightened.

Sugar shied away from Queen Lily and swallowed hard. She was very nervous. She looked over at Frances. She was very confused as to why there were strangers in their home. He had convinced her that he was a safe troll to be with and that he would protect her. She had been locked up in his home for the last two years.

“Mama?” A seventeen month old trolling named Opal looked into the bedroom. She was a white glitter trolling with pink hair and black and red heterochromia eyes. She looked between them and began crying as she peed onto the ground. She was barely potty trained and was frightened.

“Don’t you touch them!” Frances snapped as he struggled under King Cloud. “They’re mine! Not yours!”

“She looks like a child.” Queen Lily frowned and watched as Sugar rushed over to the baby. “How old are you?”

Sugar didn’t answer Queen Lily. She picked up her daughter and carried her away. She wanted to get her cleaned up.

“Did you mate with that girl, while underage?!” King Cloud started escorting him towards the door. He assumed that Opal was Frances’ daughter, due to her hair color and eye colors.

“Hell no, I didn’t mate with her underage!” Frances lied as he was led out the door. He was angry that he got caught at home. He had planned to attack the bunker that evening. His plans were foiled. He was trying to enjoy himself one more time, just in case he ended up getting killed.

Queen Lily stayed with Sugar, to make sure she was led out of the home and to a safe place. She knew King Cloud would assure that Frances went where he belonged. “Are you alright?” She approached Sugar and frowned when the young troll startled at her touch.

Sugar had just cleaned up Opal. She turned to Queen Lily and sneered. She made loud grunting noises and growls as she shoved her away from her daughter. Once Queen Lily was far enough away, she began signing to her in sign language that it was rude to approach a deaf troll from behind.

Now Queen Lily understood why Sugar was so jumpy. She signed to her that she was sorry. She inquired about her age, the baby, and her pregnancy. She was worried that Frances mated with a teenager. He was certainly at least twice her age at the very least.

Sugar eyed her warily. She had been told not to trust strangers. She told Queen Lily to go away, before picking up her daughter and carrying her to the nursery. She tucked Opal into her hair, before opening the door to the nursery. She slammed the door in Queen Lily’s face once she was inside. She locked the door and then went over to a bassinet. She picked up a nine month old girl, who was white glitter and had baby blue hair. She had one dark blue eye and a black eye. She yawned and stretched out. Sugar had named her Rosa.

Queen Lily had a stunned look on her face. It was the first time in her life that anyone had slammed a door in her face. She tried to open the door, but found it locked.

Sugar put Rosa in her hair, and then went towards the window. She opened it and crawled out of the window. She fled with tears in her eyes. She was terrified that Queen Lily would harm her or kill her and Rosa for being deaf.

Queen Lily heard the window open. She went outside and found Sugar. She stopped her and asked her to calm down. She reassured the frightened mama that she wasn’t going to harm her or her babies.

Sugar looked nervous as Queen Lily tried to reassure her. She wasn’t so sure about that. She had three little ones to take care of. It was even scarier that Frances was arrested. 

Queen Lily told her she had a safe place to take her, until she had a chance to settle and relax. She escorted her towards Goldie, Branch, and Tsunami’s home. She had a feeling that she was related to Bubbles. If she was with someone she knew, she might relax a little bit, in theory.

Sugar swallowed hard as she was led away from her home. She glanced around nervously. The last time she was outside, she had passed out unexpectedly. She woke up in what she assumed was the safety of Frances’ home. She had been convinced that she wasn’t kidnapped and that he had saved her life.

Once at her friends’ home, Queen Lily led Sugar inside. She helped her into the bunker and walked her towards the main living space of the bunker.

Bubbles saw them and widened his eyes. He rushed over to Sugar and hugged into her. “Sugar! I thought she died!” He cried happy tears. “My little sister is alive…”

Sugar gasped and hugged Bubbles back. She cried with him. She thought he had died too. She hadn’t seen him for two years.

“She looks a lot like you Bubbles. I had a feeling.” Queen Lily smiled and watched as the two siblings snuggled with each other. “I’ve got to go back and help with the investigation. Call me if you need anything.” She headed back to the entrance. She still had a lot to do.

Bubbles checked her over and frowned when he saw she was pregnant. She was too young to be that far along. He asked her who got her pregnant.

Sugar put her hand on her belly. She hesitated, seeing that he was upset. She sighed and began explaining to him that she had two children, with another on the way. She then pulled Rosa out of her hair. She gave her to her uncle, so he could hold her. She then pulled Opal out of her hair and showed her to him.

Bubbles looked worried. His sister was so young. He looked at his nieces and then at his sister. “I’m going to take good care of you and your babies.” He was determined to help her. He was so glad she was alive. He looked forward to learning more. It appeared a lot had happened the last two years.


	22. A Dastardly Deed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Queen Lily discovers that Frances has been causing a lot more problems then she originally thought.

For the next month, King Cloud, Queen Silk, and Queen Lily went through all of Sheriff Frances’ things, collected evidence, and arrested all of the officers that were involved with Frances’ wrong doings. Sugar had given birth two weeks earlier, to another baby girl. She looked just like Frances. Sugar ended up naming her Crystal. She stayed in the bunker, to be with her older brother. She felt safer down there and was still getting used to the thought that Frances had lied to her for the last two years. She felt cheated out of a normal life for the last two years. She wasn’t happy that he wasn’t going to be supporting his daughters anymore either.

Once there was enough evidence collected, Queen Lily approached Frances outside his prison cell. She crossed her arms and looked him up and down. “You had a daughter. I’m sure you’re aware that your girlfriend was only eighteen.”

“Then she lied to me. She said she was eighteen when we met.” Frances grumbled crankily. He lied to Queen Lily, but he didn’t want an additional charge of statutory rape.

“You’re the one that’s lying, Frances. She told us that she told you her age when you first met her. You still mated with her shortly after tricking her into staying with you. You lied to her so you could have a sex partner. Is this what you did to all those prison girls that you mated with for the last twenty five years?!” Queen Lily’s voice rose. She was livid. Frances had caused a lot of problems. She even found out he was the reason that Tourmaline’s minions roamed free. He had written down notes saying he did it to help Tourmaline. She found notes saying he wanted to help with the extermination of not only the royal family, but also of their own species. “What have you told Tourmaline about us?! I have records proving you've been in contact with him for at least nine years!”

Frances watched and listened to her as she went off on him. A smile spread on his face when Tourmaline was mentioned. “Yes, I told him of your whereabouts. He’s not interested in you and your pitiful family at the moment. He’s working on an army to take down the city instead. He’s no longer worried about your family, because our species will soon come to a sad end.”

“Tourmaline is not powerful enough to take down a whole species.” Queen Lily said coldly and with a matter of fact.

“No, he’s not. A virus would be though. One that has already affected this entire city. One that I helped spread across this world without anyone knowing it.” Frances smirked as Queen Lily glared at him. He felt no remorse for what he had done.

“What are you talking about?! No one has been sick!” Queen Lily glared at Frances and crossed her arms. She had a feeling he was just trying to scare her. It wasn’t working.

“Of course no one is sick. This is a virus, similar to the one that affected all trolls, well over a thousand years ago, that made it so that the population was composed of males, except for one family line that produced a female about every one hundred years.” Frances licked his lips. “Have you not noticed that in the last twenty years, there has slowly been a dramatic increase of females? Have you not seen that for the last five years, only female babies have been born in the city?! Seems your friends have noticed. I heard that Sky was working on trying to figure out what the cause was. There is nothing that can be done now. With only female trolls being born, our species will begin to twindle, until the last female will die, alone, due to being unable to procreate.”

Queen Lily’s face dropped. She had noticed the increase in females. It was getting to the point that no one had to do an ultrasound, because they all had a feeling that the babies would be girls. They had checked everyone anyway, but for the last five years, all babies that had been born in the city were girls. “What did you do?!” She yelled at him angrily.

“Tourmaline and I found that virus and genetically modified it, so that it affects the seeds of all trolls. The seeds that would be male, die before they are germinated. The opposite of what it did so many years ago. The vaccine that worked for that virus will not work for the new virus. I’ve already checked that out on Sugar. Our species is going down Queen Lily, right along with your pathetic excuse for a family.” Frances looked her up and down. He could see that she was fuming. He was delighted to see that she was flushed red in frustration.

“You experimented on that child?! You monster!” Queen Lily clenched her fists and sneered. “We will find a vaccine and reverse this, before it’s too late! You won’t win! God damn you!” She stormed away in a huff. She wanted to kill him for what he had done. He not only involved the city, but the world in his wrong doings. She was going to make sure he paid a heavy price for trying to destroy their world. She planned on making sure he suffered to his last breath.

“It’s already too late.” Frances laughed at her as she stormed away. He settled down in his prison cell bed. He may have been in prison, but at that moment, he felt like he had already won.

A few hours later, King Cloud, Queen Lily, and Queen Silk came back to his prison cell, along with a handful of other trolls. Among them was Hematite.

“Frances, you’re sentenced to death, by stoning.” King Cloud opened his jail cell door. He walked over to him and put him in handcuffs. He led him out of the jail and walked towards a crowd. Once there, he restrained Frances with a rope. He backed away and looked among the city dwellers. “This male is the cause of a great pain among the city. Tonight, we will throw stones at him, as would be the will of our Lord. May God have mercy on his soul.”

“Hematite? He tried to kill you. You have the honor of throwing the first stone.” Queen Lily gave a stone to Hematite. She had another in her other hand. She was ready to throw as many as it took to assure of Frances' death.

“It will be my pleasure.” Hematite grasped the stone in his left hand, before throwing it as hard as he could at Frances. He was still sore from his injuries, but it wasn’t going to stop him from seeking revenge.

Frances yelped when the rock hit his side. He glared at them, but didn’t say anything. He had nothing else to say. He knew his time had come.

For the next two hours, angry trolls threw stones at Frances. It didn’t end, until about a half an hour after Frances stopped moving. Queen Lily had them stop and then asked Mama Goldie to check for a pulse.

Mama Goldie walked over to the badly beaten troll. She checked for a pulse. She didn’t find one. “He’s gone…”

“One less monster in this world. His deadly partner is next.” Queen Lily sneered, before leaving to go check on her children and grandchildren. She felt a lot of anxiety. She wasn’t even sure if they were safe in the bunker. She was going to keep the entrance heavily guarded. She wasn’t letting her babies and grandbabies die without a fight. This battle was over, but the war was not won. They still had at least one more troll to kill and a virus to eliminate, before peace would come to them again. Her hope was that the virus could be cured before it was too late for their species.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The virus Frances talked about is a reference to my series, "A Single Flower." Feel free to read it if you wish. Here is a link to the first part, for your convenience:
> 
> https://archiveofourown.org/series/1304480


	23. A Little Down Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After months of stress, Sky and Mercy take a break to spend time with each other.

For the next few weeks, Sky, Branch, Goldie, Mercy, and Tsunami worked on finding a vaccine for the Male Germination Virus. They started calling it MGV for short, since the virus that killed the female seeds had been called the Female Germination Virus, or FGV for short. Sky thought perhaps, if they worked on doing what was done with the first virus, that a cure could be found nearly immediately. Tests on that virus failed on seeds that he had extracted from his son, Yang, who had the virus. He continued to work hard on a cure. He didn’t want their species to die off. They had years to find a cure, before it would begin to look hopeless, but the longer it took to find a cure, the harder it was going to be for their species to recover after having a decade or even a generation of only female trolls.

Mercy did what she could to help, medically. They were still down in the bunker. She was worried about the stress Sky was under. He was three months pregnant with twins. They were going to check the genders of his babies soon. She quietly hoped that he might be carrying a boy. They had tested him and found that he didn’t have the virus. He wasn’t alone. Branch and Iris didn’t have the virus either. Branch was already working with Tsunami, to get pregnant, even though he was forty one years old. They needed as many boys as possible, to increase chances for their species.

Hematite often offered to help them. He was feeling much better, now that his ribs and amputation site had a chance to heal. Oftentimes they asked him to cook or help watch the children. He did what he could, but Horizon’s girls didn’t trust him. He knew about their history. He didn’t blame them for being fearful of him. He was a muscular, burly male. He had a feeling he was very intimidating to the little ones. He had to be strong for his job. He was working hard to keep his build. Once he had the OK to return to work, he wanted to be in tip top shape. Being a police officer was going to be hard, now that he was missing his right forearm. It was going to be even more interesting now, because Queen Lily had promoted him to Sheriff, replacing Frances. He was going to be in charge of the entire police force. It was a daunting thought to him.

One evening, when the kids were in bed and after studying slides under a microscope, Sky left his desk and headed for the kitchen for a late evening snack. Once in the kitchen, Sky pulled a few crackers out and a glass of juice. He silently snacked and thought of what else he could try. He was frustrated that everything he had tried so far hadn’t worked. He wanted to fix this virus yesterday.

“You’re so tense. I could fix that.” Mercy walked over to Sky and rubbed his shoulders as he ate the crackers. She was just going into heat, but was ignoring the intense urge to mate. She didn’t think Sky would be in the mood to do that. He was pregnant, stressed, and had a lot of work to do. She had stopped taking contraceptives, after talking to Sky about possibly having at least one more baby together. Sky agreed that it was a great idea. Especially since his seeds were not affected by the virus.

“I won’t turn down a back massage. We’ll have to be very careful though, since I’m pregnant.” Sky smiled at her and gave her a kiss, before finishing his last cracker and standing up. He could smell her heat. He wasn’t in the mood at that moment, but after a relaxing back massage, he thought perhaps he might change his mind.

“You can sit up while I work on your back.” Mercy led him towards their bedroom. She hoped to get him relaxed. They had both been in need of some stress relief for a very long time.

Hematite watched them retreat for their room. He followed them to their door and then quietly listened to them as they murmured to each other inside their room. He had smelled Mercy’s heat. He was going into rut and having a hard time smelling her delightful scent. He had to remind himself that she was taken. A soft sigh escaped him, before he headed for the bathroom, to take a bath. He began running the water and prepared for the hot water. Once it was ready, he slipped into the water and tried to relax. Mercy kept coming to his mind. She had been his primary caregiver, while he was healing from his injuries. He had quietly fallen in love with her and Sky. He thought he would never love again, after Obsidian’s mother had crushed his trust and heart from abandoning their newborn son at the hospital. He wasn’t going to let someone do that to him again. He couldn’t get hurt again if he didn’t take on another mate. At least, that was his thought process on the matter. He had been single for nearly twenty years.

About half an hour later, Sky had to retreat to the bathroom. One of the twins had kicked his bladder. He didn’t know Hematite was in there. He opened the door and gasped when he saw that Hematite was in the tub. A whimper escaped him. He needed to go to the bathroom urgently and the next closest bathroom was a story below them. He wasn’t sure he could make it without leaving a trail of urine down the steps.

“I’m done Sky. Hold on.” Hematite could see that Sky was in urgent need to use the facilities. He quickly opened the drain to the tub and got out. He wrapped himself in the towel and rushed out of the door so that Sky could urinate in peace.

Sky was unable to wait. He pulled his pants off, before Hematite left and began to pee into the toilet. He had an erection, because of Mercy, so it made urinating awkward and uncomfortable.

Hematite got a glimpse of Sky’s swollen member, before he had retreated. He stood outside the bathroom and dried off. He was glad everyone else appeared to be in bed. He had an erection now too. Once he was dry, he headed for his bedroom. He didn’t think to cover his own member, since everyone was asleep.

Mercy was waiting on the bed for Sky when she saw Hematite walk by. She blushed when she saw his erection. She let out a soft sigh. She planned on talking to him about that, later. He was a glitter troll, but he still had to hide that, just in case the children woke up at night to go pee. She didn’t give it anymore thought for now. She was taken after all. She was fiercely loyal and knew that Sky was as well.


	24. Increasing Chances

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yin sparks an idea, to help increase the chances of male children.

The following morning, Mercy and Sky approached Hematite and had a chat with him about what happened the night before. They didn’t want any of the children to see his penis, while it was erect. Especially one of Horizon’s young daughters. They didn’t want them to experience a flashback and they certainly didn’t want them to fear Hematite for any reason. He really was a nice troll. They wanted the girls to eventually warm up to being around him.

Hematite was guilt ridden for causing problems the night before. He spent most of the morning quiet. He ended up retreating to his room whenever Mercy came around. He was having a very hard time controlling his length when she got too close. It was clear that they were genetically very well matched and compatible. He wanted to go to his actual home, so he could get away from the scent that was plaguing him, but he wasn’t ready for that yet. He had promised Queen Lily he would wait another couple weeks before making his reappearance at the prison, as the new sheriff, so he had a little more time to heal. Especially since he wasn’t healed enough to get dentures, since all but a couple of his teeth had been either kicked out or pulled out from being broken. He was still getting used to using his hair instead of his right hand to do a lot of tasks as well. Taking care of the bunker’s occupants was giving him a lot of practice.

Hematite’s sudden strange behaviour didn’t go unnoticed. Yin watched as the middle aged troll paced around the bunker. She could see that he was sweaty, uncomfortable, and smelled strong of musk. She knew what that scent was. She had smelled it several times before. Hematite’s scent wasn’t a smell she liked, but she learned that it only really smelled tantalizing if the male was compatible and would make a great mate. She had a feeling that he wanted to mate with someone in the bunker due to his behavior. She felt bad for him. He was a sweetheart and didn’t have a mate. From what she heard, he hadn’t had a mate since he divorced Obsidian’s mother nearly twenty years earlier for not only abandoning their baby, but for cheating on him too. He had gotten the rotten end of the deal and had mentioned before that he regret breaking up with her aunt Goldie due to loving a pretty face and for not wanting a large family. She had a feeling he would have taken the large family over the rotten loneliness that he obviously suffered from now.

Shortly after lunch, Yin saw Hematite retreat after passing by her mother. This time, she followed him to his bedroom. She peeked in the door, as he was about to shut the door. She had a feeling she knew why he was acting strange now. Her mother was in heat. Her hormones were driving him crazy. “Are you alright?”

Hematite covered his front side with a blanket. “I’ll be alright, Yin. Nothing time won’t fix.” He curled up on his side, so he was facing away from her. He wasn’t going to admit his problems to her for multiple reasons, including the fact she was the oldest daughter of Mercy and Sky.

Yin sat down beside him and put her hand on his shoulder. “Your heart is aching.”

“Is it that obvious, kid?” Hematite frowned and looked back at her. He was trying so hard to hide it. It was obviously not working.

“Yeah, it’s painfully obvious. Who are you seeking?” Yin pushed with a grin on her face. She was hoping he would admit to who he was interested in.

“I can’t say who. I want to live.” Hematite sighed heavily. He looked away from her and swallowed hard. “I want to go home...”

Yin frowned when he said he wanted to go home. He obviously loved someone who was taken. She had a feeling it was her mom. “I don’t want you to go home. You saved my life. I want you to be here so you can help protect all of us.”

“I’m going to have to go back to work soon. I’m the new sheriff.” Hematite could feel that his member had gone flaccid. He was glad it went down. He wasn’t ready to move again yet. He was actually considering hiding under the blanket for a little while. Yin was making him uncomfortable with this conversation.

“You can still be here to protect us. Scarlet is here to do the same thing.” Yin rubbed his back gently, before covering him up with his blanket. “Why don’t you get some rest? Lunch seems to have made you sleepy.” She kissed his cheek, before leaving the room. She wanted to find her parents.

Hematite smiled softly when she kissed his cheek. She was so sweet. He closed his eyes and sighed softly. He knew she had fallen in love with Bubbles and was going to have a baby in a few months. He silently wished he had a family to raise too. He felt so lonely. His relationship so far with Obsidian was rocky at best. His own son didn’t trust him, yet.

Yin approached her mom. She had a determined look on her face. Not only did she have an idea to make this work for Hematite, but she also had an idea to make this work in her mother and father’s favor too. “Mom, I was doing some thinking. I know you and dad are trying for another baby, but if you perhaps have another mate like Branch does, there would be one more parent that could possibly have a baby boy. Hematite is single and around your age. Perhaps…”

“Yin, he told me he wants to be single. His heart was broken, after what happened to Obsidian.” Mercy reminded her gently. “Besides, I don’t think your father and I want another mate. We’ve been through so much. We just need each other.” She didn’t look so sure.

“I know, mom.” Yin sighed softly. She looked into her eyes. “I’m just trying to help.”

“I know you are.” Mercy rubbed her cheek. Yin was so smart. She had a good point. If they had Sky mate with Hematite, they would increase the chances of producing another male child. Her concern was Hematite’s heart. They certainly couldn’t take any resulting child away from Hematite. They had to make this arrangement fair for everyone if they were going to do this. “I’ll think about what you said and talk this idea over with your father. Perhaps we can make some sort of arrangement.”

Yin smiled and gave her mother a hug. It was a step in the direction she hoped her parents would go. “I’m going to crochet another blanket for my baby.” She left, so she could get to work. She wanted to make several blankets for her baby. She was excited to be a mother, despite how her little one came to be.

Mercy watched her daughter go, then headed for Sky’s office. Once in there, she walked over to his side and sat beside him. “Sky, I was just talking to Yin. She had an idea that I wanted to run by you.”

Sky turned his microscope off and smiled at Mercy. “An idea? What’s that?”

“She thought if we took on another mate, we might increase the chances of having a boy, since your sperm is unaffected by the virus.” Mercy looked into his blue eyes. “She pointed out to me that Hematite is single. If he’s willing, perhaps we can give this a shot?”

“Having another mate would increase our chances.” Sky thought for a moment, before nodding. “Let’s go talk to him.” He got up and headed for Hematite’s bedroom.

Mercy got up and followed him. She was glad he wasn’t upset by the idea. She certainly didn’t want to upset her mate. He was the best thing that had ever happened to her in her life.

Sky peeked into the bedroom and watched Hematite breathe. He could see that he was awake. “Hematite?”

Hematite sat up and put his legs over the side of the bed. “I’ve been good. I promise...” He thought he was in trouble again. He was hoping Yin didn’t see his swollen member.

“That’s a good thing.” Mercy smiled softly. She knew he hadn’t meant to cause any trouble.

“That’s not why we’re here, this time.” Sky closed the door and locked it, so that none of the children went in there while they discussed this. “Mercy and I want to run an idea by, with you. You’re more than welcome to say no.” He sat down beside Hematite and took his left hand. “As you’re aware, our species is in grave danger of coming to an end. It’s hard to tell when we will be able to find a cure. Branch, Iris, and I are the only known trolls to be virus free. Branch already has two mates to try to have more male babies with. I only have one mate and she will soon go through the change. I was hoping, with your permission, we could have your help to increase our chances. If you help us by having a baby or two, we will help you with your pregnancy and with raising any possible children that might result. I’m thinking I could give you a shot to increase your chances of multiples, as well. The more you have, the better our chances. It will still be a fifty-fifty chance that you’ll have a girl or two. I would know. I’ve had one boy so far, with several precious girls.”

Hematite listened to him and thought for several moments, before nodding. “I’ll do it, so long as I get to raise my children. I don’t want to go through a separation again. I want to raise my own baby.”

“We completely understand.” Mercy nodded in agreement. “Sky, I’ll get the shot to increase the fertility chances. You should go to the bedroom. I will help you in a few minutes to get excited, so we can artificially inseminate him.”

Sky smiled softly. “Mercy, you know it works best if both parties are aroused. I should mate with him. You can be right here while we do it, if you wish.”

Hematite squirmed as his member swelled between his legs. The idea of having sex had him not only arroused. He was shaking with anticipation as well. “We’re going to do this now?”

“You have a good point, Sky. Hematite, you’re in rut. It’ll be the best time to do this.” Mercy got up and went to get the shot they needed to increase Hematite’s chances of having multiples. She was bright red in the cheeks and already aroused herself, due to his scent. She soon returned and prepared it. She then stuck him in his right arm, near the shoulder. She rubbed it in and looked into his dark brown, almost black eyes. “If you’re sure, let’s get this going. Time is not on our side.”

Sky waited for Mercy, before pulling her in for a kiss. He wanted to make sure she knew that she was his primary love. He didn’t want her to ever feel like she was being replaced.

Hematite rubbed where Mercy gave him the shot. He smiled at them, before nodding. “I want to do this. I want a family.”

Mercy kissed Sky a few times, before helping him out of his clothes. She gently nudged him into the bed and smiled at him lovingly.

Sky pulled Mercy into the bed and moved her to the side of the bed. “I need your help, my love.” He gave her a few more kisses, before positioning Hematite. “Forgive me Hematite, but I’ve never mated with a male before. This might be a little odd.” He tested Hematite’s hole. It was tight, from never being penetrated. He had a bottle of massaging oil in his hair. He pulled it out and lubed his length, so that it made this easier. He began covering his member with it. It was starting to swell up. “It’ll probably be best to relax.” He took in Hematite’s scent. He did smell really good. He positioned himself over him, before he began forcing his swollen cock into Hematite’s tight, hot hole. A sudden shudder of pure delight escaped him. He couldn’t help but moan as he began thrusting his hips. He was very sensitive and had little to no control of how he expressed his pains and delights. He kissed Mercy hungrily and played with her breast as he thrust his hips.

Hematite let out a whimper as his hole was suddenly penetrated. Sky was right, the sensation was very odd. As Sky’s length filled him, he let out a moan. He closed his eyes and backed up a bit. He liked how this felt. Sky’s swollen cock, twitching inside of him was almost more than he could bear. “Mercy is a very lucky lady…”

Mercy was blushed beet red as Sky got busy multitasking between them. She refrained from saying anything yet. She wasn’t sure what to say.

Sky quickly picked up speed. As he was thrusting inside of Hematite, he moved his hand down to Mercy’s vagina. He fingered her gently, while he worked on setting Hematite’s loins on fire. He was really enjoying this.

Hematite purred as Sky worked hard on him. His own member throbbed on his belly. He was very pleased.

Mercy shuddered in pleasure. She closed her eyes and slowly relaxed. She was starting to warm up to the idea of all three of them doing this.

For the next few hours, all three of them worked on different positions. Mercy didn’t let Hematite mate with her at first, but after about two hours of mating, she ended up caving, so that Sky could be on top of him, while Hematite had a round on top of her. She whispered that at this rate, he was going to have to join the family. She wasn’t going to let him do it without him being part of the family. She wasn’t going to have it any other way.

When they were all done, all three of them spent some time cuddling. Even though it started as business, they quickly realized that they were going to do well as a family. At that moment it just felt right.


	25. Family Feud

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goldie finds out about Hematite’s new love affair.

Shortly after settling down for some cuddle time, there was a knock on Hematite’s bedroom door. It was Yin. “Mom, I wanted to wait since you were busy, but aunt Goldie is starting to get worried about you. Sassafras had his baby. She needs your help and advice. The tear is severe.”

Mercy shot out of bed and quickly cleaned up with a tissue. “I’ll be right there!” She wished someone had come to get her. Sassafras was overdue and they were going to do an induction if he didn’t have his baby by the following morning. She was glad he finally had her, but it sounded like the little one tore him up on the way out. She knew how much that hurt. She was surprised that she didn’t hear him cry out in pain. As soon as she was cleaned up enough, she came out and hurried for the medical room.

Sky and Hematite also got up and began cleaning up. Sky put his pants on and followed Mercy. He wanted to get the umbilical cord blood, if it wasn’t too late. He had mentioned that he wanted the blood from all newborns. He wanted to experiment with it. “Hematite, please check on the kids?”

Hematite nodded and went to go check on the children. He silently hoped that Sassafras was alright.

Yin led her mother to the medical room and then went to check on the newborn. She was surprised that Sassafras had gotten her out on his own. She was a big baby girl.

Mercy followed Yin into the medical room and then walked over to Sassafras. She joined her little sister’s side and checked the young father’s tear. “That’s impressive.” She didn’t realize he had scar tissue down there, from his first baby. “Sassafras, I need to do some clean up work down here. I’ll give you a numbing medicine.” She got some and injected it to help numb him up.

Sassafras winced from the sting of the shot. He had a tight hold of Basil’s hand. He had amazingly gone through the whole thing with little more than a whimper. He had been afraid to cry out in pain, due to past experiences. He had been silent when his daughter, Destiny, was born too. “I want to name her Carnation.”

“Sounds wonderful, my love.” Basil rubbed Sassafras’ scalp and gave him a kiss. “I love you.” He wasn’t happy that there was so much fuss. He had hoped that the birth would be a little less stressful for Sassafras this time. At least this time he got to raise his own baby. He didn’t like that his brother, Parsley, was raising Sassafras’ first baby.

“Where were you and Sky? Yin said you were busy. I didn’t think you’d be gone for hours.” Goldie prepared to perform minor surgery on Sassafras. Once he was numb, she helped Mercy fix his tear.

Mercy made a clean cut on each side of the tear and removed the scar tissue. She then disposed of the tissue, while Goldie worked on closing blood vessels. “We were busy. I’m not explaining what we did. There are children present.”

While Mercy and Goldie talked, Sky got what he could from the umbilical cord. He left with what he had retrieved.

“Why was Hematite involved?” Goldie shot a look at her sister. She had a feeling she knew what happened, but she wasn’t intending to argue with her sister, yet. She could smell the strong scent she was giving off, mixed with sex. She wasn’t amused.

“We were taking care of business.” Mercy was flushed red. “Drop it now, Goldie. We’re working right now.” She said firmly. She wasn’t amused with her little sister’s sudden attitude.

“Please don’t fight, while tending to my bits.” Sassafras suddenly looked concerned. He didn’t want to be injured.

“Sassafras is right. Don’t fight, please.” Yin looked concerned as well. She rarely saw her mom and aunt so tense. Especially towards each other.

Basil smirked and let Sassafras go. “Oh, please hurry and fix my husband so I can listen to this.” He wanted to know what had both of them so hot.

“We are not done talking about this!” Goldie grumbled as she finished her part of the surgery. She got up and went to search for Sky or Hematite. She wasn’t done with this, but Sassafras was right. He didn’t need to be involved.

“Deepest apologizes, Sassafras.” Mercy finished stitching him up and then helped him set Carnation up to nurse. She shot a glare at Basil, before faking a smile for Sassafras. “You did a great job. She’s so pretty.” She watched the newborn. She was glad Sassafras got her out without losing her. She was a big baby and would have been hard to push out.

Carnation was a turquoise trolling, with blue green and light blue two toned hair. She was starting to get fussy, when Mercy set her up to nurse.

Goldie was able to find Hematite easily. She cornered him in the hallway, when he was just coming out of the bathroom. She glared up at him and sneered. “Did you mate with my sister?!”

Hematite’s eyes were as wide as saucers as he looked down at Goldie. He was taller than her. The top of her head reached his shoulders. Even though she was smaller than him, she terrified him. He knew she had a temper that was horrifying when it was flared. He didn’t dare lie to her. It would only make things worse. “Yes mam, I mated with her and Sky.” His heart pounded hard in his chest as he watched her brows fuse together. He faced a lot of nasty criminals in his life. He would take some of his worst, over Goldie, at that moment.

“You son of a bitch! You’ve got a lot of nerve! If you dare break their hearts, I’ll rip yours right out of your fucking chest!” Goldie got right in his face. She was livid that he had mated with her sister. He had broken her heart about twenty years earlier. “What happens if you find another pretty face in a month or two?! Are you going to walk away with her, and leave them?!” She hissed as she jabbed him in the ribs. She wanted to make it clear that she was pissed.

Hematite shrieked when she jabbed him. “I wouldn’t do that!” He slinked towards the closet. He went in there and shut the door. He blocked it, so that Goldie wouldn’t be able to go in there.

“Get back out here and face me like a man!” Goldie pounded on the closet door. She wasn’t done with him. She wanted to tear him to shreds. “You didn’t protect me from Silver! I don’t trust you with my sister and brother in law!”

“I’m so sorry, Goldie.” Hematite felt an overwhelming sense of guilt. He heard about what happened with Silver. If he had known sooner about Silver’s actions, he would have killed him personally. He felt sorry for her. “I failed you. I refuse to let anything like that happen again.”

Mercy came rushing over. She had heard the shriek, but wasn’t able to get to them right away. “What happened?!” She looked around for Hematite. She had recognized his voice.

Sky came hurrying over too. “What’s going on?”

Branch had followed Sky. He had no idea what happened, yet. “Is everything alright?” He had come down there to visit and help if necessary.

“I was giving Hematite a piece of my mind. He better keep himself in check, or I will kill him!” Goldie seethed. She looked at Mercy. “I hope you didn’t make a mistake. That good for nothing male broke my heart! I don’t want him to do the same to you!” She snapped at her sister. She grabbed Branch’s hand and left with a huff. She was fuming. She knew she needed to cool off, before she said something she regretted.

Mercy watched Goldie storm off. She hung her head and winced when Sky hugged her. She wondered if she made a mistake. Not because of mating with Hematite. She could see that he had grown up the last twenty years. Her concerns laid deeper than that. She didn’t want to lose the great relationship she had with her youngest sister.

Sky watched his brother as he was dragged away by a very angry Goldie. He wasn’t sure what to say. He turned to see that Mercy was upset. He quickly, but gently embraced her. “It’s going to work out. You’ll see. She’s just a little shocked. We moved quickly. It’s not like us at all.”

Hematite peeked out. He got out of the closet, when he saw that Goldie was gone. He hugged into his new mates and sighed sadly. “I’m so sorry. I promise I will not leave you two. You’re the best thing that has ever happened to me. I’m not just saying that because of what happened this afternoon either…”

Mercy silently snuggled with her husband and new mate. She knew nothing was going to take back what had happened that afternoon. Only time was going to heal this wound. She just hoped that it wouldn’t leave a huge scar. She loved all three of her little sisters dearly.


	26. A Wedding To Remember

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Despite the family drama, Mercy insists that her family becomes complete.

Even though Goldie made it clear that she didn’t approve of Hematite being with Mercy and Sky, Mercy made arrangements right away to ensure that she married Hematite into the family. She didn’t want to crush his heart. Just like Goldie, he had been through a lot since their break up twenty years earlier. He had learned a hard life lesson. It was time for him to have his own happiness.

The arrangement took a month and was held at the church, despite their family being hidden. The church was heavily guarded as the royal family and their friends gathered for the special occasion. The only ones that hadn’t gone were Poppy, Guy Diamond, Marigold, Peat, Moss, and Ruby. Poppy didn’t feel comfortable with going above ground, for any reason. She wanted her baby and their children to stay safe.

Mercy, Sky, and Hematite were not the only ones that were getting married. Bubbles was getting married to Yin. He had made it clear that he wanted to be with her and that it didn’t matter that her first child wasn’t going to be his. He just wanted her to be happy. Yang was also getting married to Scarlet. He wanted to wait until after the children were born and he had his surgery, but Mercy reassured him that it would be OK to have the marriage with his colostomy bag. It would be covered and no one was going to judge him. If they did, she would tell them off and then sic Faith and Basil on them. She wanted them to get married before the babies arrived in about two months.

Once everyone was in the church, Queen Lily approached the three sets of marrying trolls. She smiled at them, before facing Mercy, Sky, and Hematite. “Thank you, everyone, for gathering here today to bear witness to the union of a family. I will first wed and re-wed a trio of special trolls. Mercy, Sky, and Hematite have all been through a lot in their lives. Today, they get married, with hope of helping assure the future of not only their family, but our species. If any of you think they shall not wed, speak now, or forever hold your peace.”

“I object!” Goldie and Branch said at the same time. They had been adamant that they didn’t agree with this wedding.

Mercy shot a glare at her sister and brother in law. She had asked them not to do that. They had done it anyway. She was not amused.

“Oh? Why do you wish they shall not wed?” Queen Lily raised a brow. She thought that Goldie and Branch would want the revival of their species.

“Hematite will walk away the moment he sees someone more appealing. I don’t wish that on my sister and brother.” Goldie glared right back at Mercy. She had it set in her mind that Hematite was going to break their hearts.

“He abandoned his son when he was a newborn. I don’t want him doing that to my brother or sister.” Branch said firmly. He growled when Tsunami whacked him upside the head. “It’s true!”

“Knock it off, both of you! We have evidence now that it’s not true! The male that was in the hospital and claimed to be Obsidian’s father wasn’t Hematite! It was another male, that she cheated on him with. He didn’t want to raise a baby that wasn’t his!” Sky snapped angrily. He wasn’t amused at all.

“That’s enough!” Queen Lily looked at them all. “Be civil, for the sake that is all that is sane! Our species is on the verge of extinction! Your objections will be overruled! If I hear anymore about this, I will seek and execute a punishment that I see fits! Stop being mean to Hematite! He’s grown up and has proven that he never wanted to give his son up in the first place…” She shook her head and sighed. She loved Mama Goldie and Papa Branch, but they drove her up the wall some days.

Mercy smirked when Queen Lily defended her new husband. She turned to her and mouthed thank you to her. She leaned lightly into Hematite and gave Sky’s hand a squeeze. She was happy that she got to be with them.

Hematite was sweating and felt light headed. He sighed in relief when Queen Lily overruled the objections. He thought he might be single after all. When Mercy leaned on him, he put his arm around her and whispered that he felt like a lucky guy.

Sky stuck his tongue out at Branch, and then turned to Queen Lily. He nodded to her that he was ready.

Queen Lily cleared her throat and said the vows. When she was done, she told them that they could kiss. She then turned her attention to Yang and Scarlet. She decided that the eldest son should be married first.

Before Hematite could plant any kisses, his legs gave out from under him. He had passed out where he stood. A scramble ensued, as they helped him out of the hot room and into a cooler setting. It was clear he had become overheated and overwhelmed. 

Mercy fanned him and frowned. She had felt that he was hot, but didn’t realize it was that bad. She wished she had asked for ice water for him. She hadn’t seen him eat or drink all morning.

Sky got some ice water and came in after them. He splashed Hematite with the ice cold water and smiled when his new husband began to stir. “There we go.”

Hematite groaned and began dry heaving. He didn’t feel good. He groaned and looked at his mates. “I ruined our wedding...”

“No, you didn’t ruin it.” Mercy smiled softly. She planted a kiss on his cheek. She had a feeling he was pregnant. He was certainly showing early signs of it. “Take some deep breaths and rest. We’ll rejoin them, after you cool down and collect yourself.”

“No harm done.” Sky sat down beside his husband and kissed his hand, since he was too nauseated to kiss them yet. “Marriage means through sickness and health after all.”

“That’s true…” Hematite smiled at them, before snuggling with them. He was glad they understood that he hadn’t meant to faint. He looked forward to being with them for the rest of their lives.


	27. Making Amends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goldie and Mercy finally make amends, after being mad at each other for two months.

For the next month, Hematite slowly transitioned into work. He was two months pregnant with triplets, so he had to keep his work load light. He mostly stayed at the jail, doing paroles, paperwork, and telling his colleagues what needed to be done. He managed well, considering he was missing half his right arm, was enduring morning sickness, and was still getting used to his dentures.

One evening, before it was time to go home, he saw one of his fellow colleagues come in with a box. He raised a brow and stood up. He was curious what was in the box. “What do you have?”

The older cop put the box down on a desk. “I found her in a dumpster. Doctor Mercy should have a look at her.”

The newborn baby was white with midnight blue hair. She was recently born. Her umbilical cord was still soft and was tied off with a string.

“She appears to be healthy, but I think you’re right. She needs to be checked out.” Hematite put his hand on her chest. He could feel that she was dangerously cold. “I’ve got you, little one.” He scooped her up and held her to his chest. “Get me a blanket.” He grabbed the shirt that was with her in the box. He wrapped her in it, to help keep her warm. “Poor little dear…”

The cop left to get a fleece blanket. He soon returned and helped Hematite swaddle her.

“Thank you. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Hematite left the jail and headed straight home with the newborn. He knew the sooner that she was warmed up, checked over, and fed, the better it would be for her. He hoped that she wasn’t found too late. Once at the apartment, he walked into Goldie and Branch’s home and headed straight for the bunker door.

“What do you have?!” Goldie gave him a suspicious look as he hurried for the door. She followed him and eyed him as he avoided her. She grabbed him and made him turn around. She wanted to make sure he wasn’t stealing. He had really crushed her trust.

“Now is not the time to give me grief, Goldie. I brought work home with me today.” Hematite gently unwrapped the face of the newborn. “Let me get down into the bunker. She needs Mercy’s help.”

“Oh my god…” Goldie frowned as she checked the newborn’s color. It didn’t look good. She swallowed hard and nudged him towards the door. “Get down there. I’ll be down there shortly to help.” She rushed to get a heating pad. She didn’t like that the newborn was cold and pale. If she lived, she was going to be a lucky baby.

Hematite went down into the bunker and rushed towards the medical room. “Mercy! I have a newborn! She needs help!” He sat down with her and held her closely, while he waited for Mercy and Goldie. 

Mercy came into the medical room and frowned when she saw that Hematite had a newborn baby. “Let me see her.” She gently took her from him and put her down so she could look her over. She did a once over and found that she was hypothermic. When Goldie came in with the heating pad, she placed it under the baby and wrapped her up nice and snug. “Hematite, could you please go get Sugar? She might provide this baby’s first meal. I doubt she was given any. I don’t smell it on her breath. What happened?”

“She was found in a dumpster.” Hematite left to go get Sugar. He hoped they weren’t too late.

“She was abandoned. Poor baby…” Goldie rubbed the baby’s cheek soothingly. She looked up at Mercy and frowned. She had been so mad at her, but this newborn had brought them into the same room, for the first time since Sassafras had given birth. She sighed and looked down. “I’m sorry for being a pain.”

“I understand why you’ve had your doubts. He made mistakes, but he’s not a bad guy. Look at what he just did? This isn’t the first time he has saved a life. Scarlet said he saved her life when she was eighteen, when she was drowning at the river. He saved Jelly Bean too, when she was choking on a piece of candy when she was three. She remembers him saving her. He’s the only male she’ll hug. He saved Yin as well. He’s saved more lives, but three of them live with us now and are so precious.” Mercy smiled at her sister. “You’re forgiven. I know you were worried about me.”

Hematite soon returned and signed to Sugar that she might have a little trouble getting the baby to suckle. He told her Goldie or Mercy might know what to do. He then backed off, so that he didn’t upset Goldie. He was worried she might still be upset with him. He didn’t blame her. He certainly left a painful scar.

Sugar looked at the newborn and smiled. She picked her up and set her up to nurse. She encouraged her, until she latched on and began to nurse.

“She’s got the fight to live.” Goldie signed to Sugar, thanking her for feeding the newborn. “We need to find her a home. Sapphire and Pi have been waiting a long time for a baby. Perhaps we can ask them?”

“That’s up to Hematite. He’s in charge of her, since she was abandoned. I’m sure her abandonment will be investigated.” Mercy watched Sugar as she nursed the newborn. “Looks like we have a surrogate, for now.”

Hematite watched them as they spoke, and then looked at the baby. “I’ll make arrangements after the investigation. For now, she needs to stay with Sugar, so she can have milk. She might end up bonding with her.”

Sugar finished feeding the baby, and then gave the baby to Hematite. She had three babies to take care of, so she couldn’t be away from them for long. She didn’t seem interested in taking care of another baby.

“She’s a single mother. That won’t work out well. Besides, she doesn’t seem that interested.” Goldie smiled softly. She planned on thanking Sugar again later, for helping, but it appeared she was overwhelmed. It couldn’t have been easy for the young mother to have three babies under the age of two.

“We’ll see what happens. For now, she’s full, warm, and has known love. We’ll take care of her and foster her until she finds a home.” It wasn’t the first time Mercy fostered a child. “I think we should name her Miracle. It’s a miracle that she survived and was found in time.” She put her hand on her belly. She was pregnant with twins. She wanted to adopt this baby, but she knew it was unlikely that they would take Miracle in, with seven babies on the way. Goldie was right, Sapphire and Pi wanted a baby and this was a perfect opportunity for them. Either way, she hoped it would work out for the little one.

“Miracle is perfect.” Hematite held the newborn to his chest. He didn’t want to admit it, but he had already bonded with her. He wasn’t sure he was going to be able to let her go. He didn’t want anyone to ever hurt her again.


	28. Father Hematite

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Miracle is settled into her new home.

For the next two weeks, Hematite worked hard to figure out who had abandoned little Miracle. He kept her with him during most of his investigation, since she was a vital part of the case. He also fell in love with her. He fed her with a bottle and was her primary caregiver. During the investigation, a young male named Acorn, came forward, suffering from Mastitis. When the hospital staff inquired about his baby, he lied, saying she died in childbirth. River reported him to Hematite, who assured he was arrested. A blood test for genetics confirmed he was the birth father. He was given a lifetime jail sentence for what he had done. He had intended for Miracle to never be found. She was very lucky that she had been found at all.

While Miracle’s case came to a close, Bella made arrangements, so that Miracle could be placed in a new home. As much as Hematite would have loved to kept the precious little girl, he felt it was right to give a family who couldn’t have a child a chance to have a precious little one that needed all the love that they could give. He knew all too well how hard it was to live a life void of the love a child could provide. He knew his second chance was coming very soon. Sky was only a couple of weeks away from his due date. They were sure he would actually give birth at any time. He was showing signs of prelabor. He led them to Sapphire and Pi’s apartment. He had brought Sky and Mercy with him for two reasons; he felt he could use the support when he let Miracle go, and he also thought a little walk would help Sky along. He could see that his poor husband was miserable and tired. As they approached the apartment, Mercy knocked on their door.

Pi answered the door and smiled at them. “Come on in.” He let them in and then walked over to the couch, where Sapphire was sitting. He sat beside his wife and gave her a kiss. “Our little princess is here.”

“A special gift, from a very sweet guy.” Sapphire smiled at Hematite. She had seen Miracle several times and was so glad that Hematite was giving her to them. She opened her arms and waited for the little bundle.

Hematite walked over to Sapphire and gently settled Miracle into her arms. Tears instantly filled his eyes and ran down his cheeks. This was one of the hardest things he had ever had to do. “I want visitation rights. I’ve grown fond of her.”

Sky rubbed Hematite’s back. He knew this wasn’t easy for him. He placed his hand on his belly. He frowned, feeling a very harsh contraction. It took his breath away and tears filled his eyes.

Mercy dried Hematite’s face of tears. “We’ll visit often. I love coming over to see my niece and nephew, anyway.” She smiled at Sapphire. She was so glad that they were able to give Sapphire and Pi this special gift.

“We’ll take good care of her.” Pi watched Sky and noticed he was in pain. “I’d invite you three to stay for some decaffeinated coffee, but it looks like you should head home. Are you alright, Sky?”

Sapphire watched Sky’s face. “I’ve seen that look on his face before. He’s about to have those twins.”

Hematite turned to Sky and saw that he was in distress. “Yeah, we better get you home.”

Sky sniffled and nodded slowly when his contraction eased. He winced as a puddle formed under him. “It definitely feels like labor.” He looked at Pi. “I’m so sorry for soiling your carpet.”

“Alright, let’s get you home so that they can settle and bond.” Mercy led Sky towards their home. 

“Good luck!” Pi got up and went to get towels to clean up the mess. He wasn’t mad at all. He knew Sky couldn’t help that.

“I love you!” Sapphire waved to them with one hand as they left. She then smiled down at her little daughter. She was so happy with her. She planned to keep her name.

“I’ll call and check on her in a little bit.” Hematite closed the door as they headed out. He walked with Sky and rubbed his back when he stopped. “Why did you stop?”

“It hurts!” Sky sobbed, before turning to Hematite. He hugged into him and sobbed. He was never one to handle pain well, and the contractions this time seemed extra harsh. He whimpered as urine drenched his shorts. He was glad he was at least outside for that part. He would have hated to do that to Pi and Sapphire’s carpet. “I’m so sorry! I don’t know why I lost control of my urine!” He was shaking upset.

“One of the twins probably kicked your bladder. Take some deep breaths my dear. We’ll be home soon, and you can take a nice bath. Perhaps the twins can even be born in the water. Water birth is very soothing, from what I hear. Let’s get moving again. It’s going to be alright.” Mercy encouraged her laboring mate. This was Sky’s third pregnancy, so she wasn’t shocked by his sudden distress. She knew he never handled pain well. Especially the pain of labor.

Hematite looked down. Sky had managed to pee on him a little bit. “We’ll both take a bath. It’s alright…”

Sky started to walk again the moment he got a chance. He had a bad feeling his labor was going to be short, like Queen Lily’s had been about eight years earlier with Pepper and Paprika. His contractions were harsh and they seemed to be close together. He wanted to get into the bunker, so he could get the blood from his twin’s cords. He was having at least one girl. The second twin was turned to his back and they were not able to figure out the gender. He was quietly hoping for a boy. Rich’s journals suggested he was able to produce males. He had a feeling he had been dreaming, since all seven of Horizon’s children had been girls.

They stopped a few times as they went around the apartments to go home. As they approached Branch, Tsunami, and Goldie’s apartment, Sky walked in and stopped by the couch. He hollered in pain. “I’m not going to make it into the bunker!” He trembled as he began pushing. The first twin was ready to come.

“We’re right here. We can make it.” Hematite tried to encourage his mate. He frowned when he saw Sky push. “Oh…” He looked at Mercy, before helping his husband out of his shorts. “You’re doing so well.”

Mercy caught the first twin as she arrived. She gently gave her to her daddy. “Good job!” She cleaned her face with a throw blanket that was on the couch. She put the blanket around her and nudged Sky towards the bunker. “Let’s have the twin in the bunker. That one is breech. I’ll feel more comfortable if you have the baby there.”

The newborn was a rainbow trolling, like Rich. She began crying in her daddy’s arms. She was all shades of the rainbow as splotches, including her hair.

Sky held his daughter to his chest and waddled over to the bunker door. He whimpered as Hematite helped him inside. He hollered in pain during the next contraction. He fought hard to resist the urge to push. He didn’t want the second twin to come until Mercy had her equipment. He breathed through this contraction. He was very worried about the second twin.

“Good job daddy, we’re almost there.” Mercy encouraged him. “I want you to pant instead of pushing.” As soon as the contraction was over, she nudged Sky towards the medical room. As soon as they were in there, she cut the first twin’s cord, near her belly button, to help reserve the blood within the rest of the cord. She cleaned her up a little bit and gave her to Hematite. She then helped Sky settle by a bed. “I want you to crouch slightly and push. You’ve been so brave.”

Hematite followed them in and then held the first twin when Mercy gave her to him. “She’s so pretty. You make cute kids, Sky.”

“I don’t feel brave!” Sky screamed in agony as the second twin began making its grand appearance. He reached down and checked the baby with his hand. “A boy?” Tears of joy filled his eyes. He was really hoping that the second twin would be a boy.

“Is dad alright?” Yang came in with his hand on his belly. He was in pain, but he knew right now was not the time. His dad sounded like he was dying.

“Yes, sweetheart, this is a little boy. I’m getting the arms. You might tear a little bit.” Mercy gently moved the arms so that only the head remained in Sky. “You’re dad is alright sweetheart. He didn’t tear so far, so that’s a good thing.”

“At least five boys to help our species. This is great!” Hematite had a proud look on his face, even though he didn’t produce Sky’s son. All three of his babies were boys, which was a huge relief for them. Mercy was carrying the fifth son. Five boys wasn’t a lot, considering the painful amount of girls that had happened so far in the younger decade, but every male that was born would be one more that could help that decade, when their time to have families came.

Sky hollered in pain as he pushed his son the rest of the way out. “Get all the blood you can Mercy.” He breathed hard as he watched her tend to their son. He was so glad that they had a boy. He laid down and smiled when Hematite gave his daughter to him. “Their names are Precious and Chance.” He watched his son. “I sure hope you don’t act like your father. You too, young lady.” He helped the girl set up to nurse. He knew how this all worked. He had been through it twice before.

The newborn boy looked just like Rich. He cried as his mama cleaned him up.

“Mom? My water just broke.” Yin came in and settled down in a bed. She watched as her mom tended to her baby brother. “Are the twins alright?”

Bubbles wasn’t far behind Yin. He sat down beside her and rubbed her hand. Even though he wasn’t pregnant, he was feeling sympathy pains with Yin’s contractions. He looked uncomfortable.

“My water broke too.” Scarlet took Yang’s hand as she came in. She headed for a bed and settled down. She pulled Yang in for a cuddle. She was very uncomfortable.

“I’m supposed to have a cesarean section.” Yang complained as he was led to the bed. He wanted his colostomy surgery. He had a bad feeling he wasn’t having it today. It was the middle of the day and Goldie was at work. With four laboring parents, there was no way his mom would give him a surgery until later.

“One problem at a time, son.” Mercy settled Chance down on Sky’s chest and helped him set up their son to nurse. Once they were settled, she went to check her children. She had a feeling her son wasn’t going to have his surgery that day. She had a feeling he would have his baby before she could have a chance to perform surgery on him. She was worried about complications, due to the scar tissue he would have surely had from the attack five and a half months earlier.

For the next two hours, Mercy delivered each of their babies. Yang had his baby first, much to his disbelief and annoyance. Yang ended up naming her Sunflower, since she was yellow with light yellow hair. He held Scarlet’s hand as she endured labor. He understood how much it hurt.

Yin was the next to have her baby. She took her daughter into her arms and kissed Bubbles as her mom cleaned her baby up. She was tired, but her daughter had been worth the hard work. She ended up naming her Trinity. She looked just like her grandpa Sky.

Scarlet was the last to have her baby. She watched as Mercy cleaned her daughter. She ended up being light pink with rainbow colored hair. She set her up to nurse and smiled at Yang. “I want to name her Peony. We have two beautiful daughters...” She was so glad that their babies had been born healthy.

Mercy was exhausted by the time Peony was born, but watching and catching her children and grandbabies as they were born had been worth the hard work. She settled down beside Sky as he gave their daughter and son their second meal. She knew they had a long way to go before they had a vaccine, but she hoped that Chance’s blood would help them find a cure. Their species could use all the help that they could get.


	29. Uncalled For

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An attack in the city leaves hearts shattered.

For the next month and a half, Sky worked hard to find a cure or vaccine, despite having just given birth. He was exhausted, since he had twins to feed and care for as well, but he was determined to save their species from an untimely demise.

Mercy had ended up giving her son, Yang, his surgery just days after he had his daughter. She was now on bedrest, because she was bleeding lightly. They didn’t want her to lose her twins. Especially with knowledge that she was carrying a precious boy. She loathed that she couldn’t help her family, but Goldie reminded her that she needed to rest, in order to take care of her twins.

Hematite continued to work. It was his last day of work, before he was to go on early paternal leave. Since he was carrying triplets, he needed to stop working early, so that he didn’t risk premature labor. As he got ready to go, he walked into the bedroom and gave Mercy a kiss. “I was going to stop at the store and get some chocolate. Would you like anything, while I’m there?”

Mercy returned the kiss and smiled up at him. “I’d love to have some raspberries.” She rested her hand on his belly. “You boys be good for daddy. Today is his last day at work for a little while.” She rubbed a spot that she felt a wriggle. “Our sweet boys...” She gave his belly a light kiss. “You better get going, before you’re late.”

“I’m going, mama.” Hematite kissed her belly, before heading out the door. He went to the room Sky worked in and snuck a kiss. “I’m heading to work. Don’t work too hard.”

“I’ll take a break soon.” Sky gave his husband a kiss. “Don’t work too hard either. We don’t want you going into labor early.” He gently rubbed Hematite’s belly. “Be good for daddy.” He smiled at Hematite and gave him another kiss. “See you tonight…”

Hematite kissed him in return. “Have a good day.” He headed out the door, before he was distracted by anything else. He didn’t want to be late to work on his last day before paternity leave. As he entered Goldie, Branch, and Tsunami’s home, he waved to Goldie. “I hope you have a fantastic day, Goldie.”

“You too, Hematite.” Goldie was resting on the couch. She was six months pregnant with her own pod and was feeling labor pains. She was resting between contractions. She knew her daughter would arrive soon.

Hematite got outside the door and waved to the guards as he passed them. As he came to the end of the building when a sudden bang had him on high alert. He grabbed his gun from out of his holster and looked around. It was unusual for there to be anyone violent in that neighborhood.

Hidden within a tree was a sniper. He was one of Tourmaline’s minions. He had just shot towards Hematite, but missed him by inches. He aimed again, and pulled the trigger. A smirk spread on his face, when he got Hematite in the head. Hematite was one of his intended targets. He was planning to kill several more as they arrived to help.

Hematite put his hand on his head, where he had been shot. He was still alive and aware of what was going on. He stumbled back towards the apartments and gasped when one of the guards picked him up. He held onto his head wound and trembled with fear.

The guard that picked him up carried him into Branch’s apartment. He closed the door with his hair and scrambled towards the bunker door. He knew that Hematite needed help, and quickly. He was bleeding profusely from his head. He got the bunker door open and ran towards the medical room. “I need help, now!”

Goldie had seen them and followed him down. She had already stood up, after hearing two gunshots. She looked deeply concerned. “Was he shot?!”

Yin quickly hurried to the medical room and screeched in fear when she saw that her step-dad was bleeding badly. “Mom! Dad! Get in here now!” She put pressure on Hematite’s wound. She trembled with worry and fear. Someone had obviously intended to kill Hematite. It was a nasty wound. She was surprised he was still alive.

Mercy got up when she heard her daughter scream. She hurried towards the medical room as fast as she could. She had Yin move her hand. She worked with Goldie to get the bleeding to stop. If they didn’t, he would die before they could fix the wound.

Sky wasn’t far behind Mercy. His eyes went wide, when he saw that Hematite had a massive wound on his head. He hurried over to his husband and comforted him. “It’s going to be OK. We need you to stay strong.” He looked at Hematite’s swollen belly. He was very worried about the triplets too. He really hoped that Hematite would survive to hold them and give them the love that he had given Miracle, Precious, and Chance.

Hematite was in trouble and he knew it. He had a glazed look on his face, as his wife and sister in law tried desperately to stop the bleeding. “I’m dying…” He whispered. “Save my triplets. Please don’t let them die…” He took a shaky breath. “I love you all, so much…”

“Don’t talk like that, Hematite. We’ll get you fixed up and you’re going to get to raise these babies.” Goldie had tears in her eyes as she closed off a blood vessel. There was still a lot of blood. She tried to find the source. He was losing blood so fast. She had a bad feeling he was right, but she didn’t want to believe that it was so.

Mercy noticed that Hematite was growing increasingly pale. She took blood from Sky and gave it to Hematite. She then prepared to open Hematite’s skull. She had a feeling one of the vessels that was bleeding so badly was under his skull.

Yin had tears in her eyes as she did what she could to help, including cleaning the wound and moving debris out of the way. She hoped Hematite was wrong. She didn’t want him to die.

“We’ll take care of the triplets, but they’re going to try to save you first.” Sky sniffled as he held his mate’s left hand. He squeezed it gently. He was so scared that they would lose him. Hematite may have only been theirs for five months, but he had stolen their hearts in that short time frame.

Despite their best efforts, Hematite began to fade. Besides the blood loss, his brain wasn’t taking the gunshot wound well. His heart stopped not long after pleading for them to save his triplets.

“God damn him!” Goldie sobbed as she scrambled to clean his belly. She quickly opened him up and removed his entire baby pod. She opened it, releasing the triplets from inside. She grabbed the closest triplet to her and began cleaning him vigorously. She ignored the intense urge to push. Her youngest child was ready to be born.

Mercy quietly moved over to where Goldie had set the baby pod down. She grabbed the other two boys and began cleaning them up. She barely reacted when Yin came over to help her.

“They’re so little.” Yin had tears in her eyes as she rubbed one of the triplets. She hoped that they would survive the ordeal. Her heart was broken. She had formed a tight bond with Hematite the last eight months.

Sky sobbed as he moved to help with his children. He was shaking upset. This was not how he thought the day would go at all.

After a lot of encouragement, the room filled with the weak cries of three premature newborns. All three of them looked like Sky, but had glitter. They were identical triplets.

Goldie gently gave the baby she had to Sky. “Rub him and pat his little back.” She groaned as she began to push her own baby out. She reached down and grabbed her daughter as she was born. She settled her on her chest and breathed hard. “I’m sorry I couldn’t save him, Mercy.” She had tears in her eyes as she settled her daughter on a bed and began to clean her. “I’m naming her Brook, since she looks like Tsunami.”

“You were in labor, aunt Goldie?” Yin watched her as she cleaned her baby brother. After she got him clean, she set him up to have his first milk off her breast. She knew eating when so little was so important. The boys didn’t have any fat preserves from being so premature.

Mercy quietly gave one of the triplets to Yin. She helped her set him up to nurse, and then looked down when a puddle formed at her feet. Her own waters had just broken. Tears threatened as she retreated. She didn’t want to cry in front of anyone.

“Mercy?!” Sky followed his wife with the third triplet snuggled to his chest. He didn’t want her alone while she was in labor. He didn’t like that her waters broke. Her babies were going to be dangerously premature too.

Mercy almost got the door to the quiet room shut, when Sky squeezed his way in there. She glared at him with tears in her eyes. She sniffled, before closing the door and locking. She sat down on the bed in there and cried into her hands as she faded gray. It was very rare for her to let herself fade gray, but for this she couldn’t control it. She leaned into Sky as she cried. She didn’t like crying in front of anyone, but if Sky was going to be there, she would let the tears flow. She trusted him more than anyone else in their living world. She was beyond devastated.

While Hematite’s family grieved his loss, the guards searched for and captured the sniper. They held him down as they waited for orders on what to do with him.

“Tourmaline is angry that you’re all working on a cure! He says it won’t work. Even if it does, he’ll kill all of you, with the help of his army! You’re all fools! Kill me! I don’t give a flying fuck! Our species is going down!” The sniper hissed angrily. He was angry that he was caught. He had wanted to kill many others before he met his demise. A smirk spread on his face, as he fished in his pocket. He grabbed a grenade and pulled the tab while it was in his pocket. He waited, until it exploded, killing him and two of the trolls that had him pinned down.

A panic quickly ensued. Several other trolls had been injured from the grenade. They were sent to the hospital for their injuries, while a few others searched for any other bombs that might be around. They didn’t want anyone else to die.

Once everyone who died was collected, including Hematite, funerals were arranged. They moved quickly since they were unsure who else might be there that could cause the royal family and royal friends more pain and suffering.

Sky and Mercy didn’t go to their husband’s funeral. They wanted to go, but Mercy needed to stay in the bunker to have their twins. They were also worried about Sky and Mercy’s safety, since they were likely targets. Before lunch, Mercy quietly had her twins. The girl was a dark green glitter trolling. They had a feeling she was Hematite’s daughter. The boy looked like Mercy, except he had Sky’s lavender colored nose. Both survived their premature birth. Sky talked with Mercy and they decided to name Hematite’s triplets, Unity, Victory, and Warrior. Mercy’s twins were named Myka and Valiant. Mercy used as few words as possible. She was emotionally drained. She had quickly bonded to Hematite. This was so difficult for her. She knew it was devastating for Sky as well.

Once the triplets and twins were settled with full bellies, all five of them were settled in a warm bassinet. Mercy and Sky cuddled with each other, devastated by the day’s events. Life wasn’t going to be the same, now that they lost their husband, Hematite.


	30. As Determined As Ever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Despite a broken heart, Sky continues to search for a cure.

For the next four months, Mercy and Sky quietly learned to cope with the loss of their husband. They cherished the gifts he showered upon them in his short relationship with them. Along with his three newborn sons and daughter, Hematite gave one more precious gift before he died. The night before he died, he had mated with Sky, since he had had six weeks to recover from having his twins. Sky was expecting a set of twin girls from him. The last children that Hematite would give their world.

Despite being pregnant, Sky didn’t stop working. He was more determined then he had ever been before to find a cure and save their species, including the mertrolls. He had heard from King Trollex that they were also affected by the virus. His heart told him that he had to do what it took to save them all. He had even suggested to Branch that they donate their sperm, to give other families a chance at having sons. Incest in the future was a concern. A problem that they planned to work out with the community. If they worked together, families would not intertwine again, until the family blood was so diluted that it wouldn’t matter any longer. The concerns were sincere, considering albinism, blindness, and dwarfism ran in their family, along with health concerns like cancer, heart disease, and stroke. They had to try their best to give the future a fighting chance, by making sure that there was as little incest as possible. Branch worked on the paperwork and book work, while his brother worked on the medicine trials and different forms of herbal remedies.

They were not alone in the fight. Everyone in their family, including those who were in the bunker, did what they could to help. The bunker was more guarded then it had ever been before. Queen Lily, along with King Cloud and Queen Silk, were determined to keep them all safe, as they searched for a cure. The problems within the city appeared to have resolved, a year after it had come to a head.

The family gathered at the bunker, for Branch, Sky, Moon, Luna, and Guy Diamond’s birthdays. Despite it being Midwinter’s day, Sky was hard at work. He didn’t want to take a break, despite it being a holiday and his birthday.

“Sky? Why don’t you come out here and rest for a little while? You’re four months pregnant. You should take frequent breaks.” Branch walked in and began leading his brother out of the room. “Your work can wait for you, for a few hours.”

“I’m so close to a breakthrough. I’ve got to keep working.” Sky complained as his older twin led him towards the couch. He reluctantly sat down, where his brother settled him. A soft smile spread on his face, when Maple walked over to him and crawled into his lap. She was the only one of Horizon’s daughters that trusted him enough to cuddle. The other five still had a long way to go, before they would trust any males. For Jelly Bean, losing her buddy, Hematite, had set her back. She was so scared that someone would hurt her, like her father had.

“Dada…” Maple cuddled with her adoptive father. She loved Sky. He was warm and didn’t scare her. She still remembered her father, Rich, but she knew Sky was different. She had a close bond with him. A bond that only grew stronger by the day.

“Looks like you have a cuddle buddy, uncle Sky.” Moon sat down beside him. “Where are the babies?” She glanced around. She was surprised to not see Mercy. She had a feeling she had the babies.

“They’re probably with their mama and aunties.” Luna smiled, before sitting down beside her twin sister. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they are spoiling those boys, again.”

“Shh…” Sky shot a look at his nieces. “You can’t talk about those boys. As far as Tourmaline is concerned, they don’t exist.” He didn’t want those boys touched. They were imperative for their future.

“Alright, uncle Sky. You know, dad is jealous that you managed to throw five boys. Between him, mom, and father Tsunami, they had three girls.” Moon giggled, before pulling her own daughter out of her hair. She set her up to nurse. The little one was beginning to fuss.

Wendy was a four month old albino. She looked up at her mama as she fed. She was more interested in her, than in her uncle, Sky.

Luna took her own daughter out of her hair, when Moon took Wendy out. She sat her down in her lap and rubbed her cheek. “I don’t mind being around all these girls. They’re so cute.”

Anna was a six month old periwinkle trolling, with light blue eyes and royal blue hair. She smiled at her mama and cooed at her.

“Brook, Brandy, and Becka are all going to be loved, even if Branch wasn’t as lucky as I was. All children are precious. Especially when our species is in crisis.” Sky reached over and took Anna’s little hand. He was so glad he got to see his great nieces. They were all so precious. Especially since Wendy didn’t have the virus. Her blood was helping his studies, along with the blood from his sons and his daughter, Iris, since they too were virus free. He looked up, when he heard a scramble by the living room door.

“Come on, Obsidian. Just read it! Please?” Satin was following her husband around, dragging poor Chenille with her. She had been trying for months to get him to read the letter that Hematite gave him nearly a year earlier.

Chenille had her arms crossed as she was dragged around. “Obsidian, do it now! I’m getting a headache!”

“Not at a party!” Obsidian dodged his wife and sister in law. They had caught him looking at the envelope. He had never opened it, even when his father was murdered. He just wasn’t sure if he could handle whatever was written in there. He had tried hard to trust his father, but the thoughts of something bad being in there kept him from trying. He knew his uncle Sky and aunt Mercy had trusted him, but Hematie had never convinced him to trust the only known blood relative he had, other than his own little girl.

“I’ll read it.” Sky put his hand out. He was genuinely curious as to what his late husband had said to his eldest child. He had a feeling it couldn’t be as horrible as Obsidian was making it out to be.

Satin walked over to Sky and put the envelope into his hand. She sat down by Luna and smirked when Obsidian glared at her. “You’re welcome.”

Chenille sat beside Satin and glared at Obsidian. She was not amused by how stubborn he had been. He had never even hugged his biological father. Satin had to sneak Shadow out of the nursery to let her cuddle with Hematite, when he was still alive.

Basil caught his adoptive brother and smirked as he squirmed in his hands. “I caught him!”

Obsidian grumbled as he plopped down on his bottom. He glared at Basil when he sat beside him. “Don’t read that out loud uncle Sky.”

Sky raised a brow, before opening the envelope. He opened the letter, and began reading it out loud, despite Obsidian’s wishes not to hear it.

“To my dear son, Obsidian;

My handsome son, my heart swells with joy that you were raised by a wonderful woman, that I once loved with all my heart and soul. I made a lot of mistakes in my youth, but you were not one of them. I’m so glad that you ended up with someone I knew I could trust with you. You’re a lucky boy, to have a wonderful mother, who found and married not one, but two wonderful males that you could call dad. I think that she made the right decisions, to assure you had the best future. I’m proud of her, for being a good mother to you, and so many other very lucky boys and girls.

I want you to take good care of your family, son. Cherish every moment and every day you have with them. You never know what the future might bring you. I never thought I would see the day that my only precious gift would be stolen from me. Embrace the love that you have been given and don’t let it go. I certainly wouldn’t have, if I knew you were coming, the day your mother abandoned you.

When you’re ready, son, I have gifts in my home, that I have wrapped in presents. It is in what would have been your bedroom, if I had been lucky enough to raise you instead. I bought them each birthday and Midwinter’s day. My reasoning was the hope that I might one day get to meet you, to give them to you, even though I didn’t know what your name was, what you looked like, or where you had gone. You have outgrown some of those gifts. If you want, you can give them to your children instead. I would love for them to have what I was unable to give to you as you grew up.

I love you, son. I know you probably don’t feel that or care for what happened. I don’t blame you, if you never come to trust me or love me. I’m sure this is a confusing time for you. For that, my son, I’m so, so sorry. Give your mom and dads a lot of sugar for me.

With all the love in our world,

Hematite.”

Sky looked up as he finished the letter. Several of their family members had gathered to listen to him read the letter, including his wife, Mercy. Tears ran down his cheeks. His husband had tried so hard. His time had been cut too short. He wished there was a way to bring him back, so he could enjoy their family.

Obsidian had a shocked look on his face. The words in the letter were not what he was expecting at all. He thought Hematite would have had that letter full of excuses, as to why he didn’t raise him instead. Tears filled his eyes and ran down his cheeks. “I don’t know what to do or say.”

“He loved you, so much. All we can do now, is love the family we have. Love your brothers and sisters. They need to know you, just like you should have known your father.” Satin pulled her husband in for a hug and held him as he quietly cried onto her chest. She knew how hard it was to live without a father. Her mother had been widowed since before her and her sister were born. Cloud had only recently become her stepdad.

“Satin is right. We should treasure the gifts he showered upon us, while he was in our lives.” Sky reached over and rubbed his nephew’s back. It had been a busy and long year for them all. A year full of anguish, pain, suffering, and loss. Most of them had survived it, while they had lost some on the way. All they could do now, was hold onto hope and thrive on the love that they had for each other. They were going to need it, for the hard times to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end of part 4. I hope you enjoyed. I have a 5th part planned and it will be coming soon!


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